Re: Use of Early Recollections

An eloquent and concise statement about the value of earliest recollections, is provided by Alfred Adler:

"When rightly understood in relation to the rest of an individual's life, his early recollections are found always to have a bearing on the central interests of that person's life. Early recollections give us hints and clues which are most valuable to follow when attempting the task of finding the direction of a person's striving. They are most helpful in revealing what one regards as values to be aimed for and what one senses as dangers to be avoided. They help us to see the kind of world which a particular person feels he is living in, and the early ways he found of meeting that world. They illuminate the origins of the style of life. The basic attitudes which have guided an individual throughout his life and which prevail, likewise, in his present situation, are reflected in those fragments which he has selected to epitomize his feeling about life, and to cherish in his memory as reminders. He has preserved these as his early recollections." (From "Significance of Earliest Recollections," International Journal of Individual Psychology, (1937) Vol. 3.

I plan to post some additional information about early recollections, on the AAISF web site, in the near future. The book you mentioned, "On Purpose," is protected by copyright and may be ordered from a bookstore.

Earliest recollections provide an elegant projective tool for gaining useful therapeutic insight. When used creatively and diplomatically, they also offer opportunities to promote cognitive, affective, and behavioral change in the middle and later stages of psychotherapy.

I usually elicit both oral and written recollections from a client; even though they may appear similar, some differences are often revealing. When eliciting oral recollections, it is important to notice the client's attitude, expression, posture, gestures, and feeling while giving the memory. Written recollections, embedded in a comprehensive questionnaire, may suggest clues from handwriting, spelling, grammar, word choice, and punctuation.

Interpreting earliest recollections accurately, requires the context of comprehensive case information. See "Suggestions for Presenting or Discussing a Case" at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hstein/pres-cas.htm . Guesses about the meaning of recollections should be checked carefully against the background of the presenting problem and all available case information.

Posting and discussing clients' or personal recollections on this public forum, although potentially interesting, does not seem appropriate. Not only is there a confidentiality issue, but there is always the possibility that forum comments about the recollections might be uncomfortable or even painful for that individual to read.

Interpreting earliest recollections, as well as the style of life, is a fine art. In addition to the skills of analysis and synthesis, it requires a sensitivity to images, metaphors, and the nuances of feelings. Some of my students have found it initially helpful to structure their case study work according to the stages of the creative process, as well as the discipline of qualitative analysis. (See the course outline for "Case Analysis and Treatment Planning" at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hstein/dt301.htm .)

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