Re: The Art of Therapy

Are you suggesting that a therapist benefits his client by appearing to switch from an Adlerian to a Jungian, Freudian, Gestalt, RET, T/A, or other approach, adopting the different views of human nature, philosophies of living, theories of psychopathology, and assumption about cure? Would an Adlerian, attempting to demonstrate "flexibility" give up the constructs of the unity and uniqueness of the personality, feeling of inferiority, striving for completion, fictional final goal, style of life, scheme of apperception, private logic, and the feeling of community, and instead, adopt a Jungian typology to categorize his client and begin exploring the shadow self? What then becomes the new direction for treatment--integrating the conflicting parts of the personality that he didn't initially believe existed?

If we extend your thesis Socratically (reductio ad absurdum), the ultimate therapeutic result might be achieved by a therapist with a multiple personality disorder rotating between identities of Adler, Freud, Jung, Perls, Lacan, Skinner, Kohut, Moreno, Ellis, Rogers, Frankl, and Berne. In the style of George Kelly's "Fixed Role Therapy," he could provide the client with a series of weekly homework assignments, consisting of fifty different personalities, that could be practiced within the first year of treatment. Together, they could explore the farther reaches of the twilight zone as they compete for the ultimate expression of artistic flexibility.

On the other hand, if you mean that a therapist needs the flexibility to adopt a broad range of inventive strategies and techniques, within a centrally integrated theory and philosophy, I agree with you. Classical Adlerian theory, combined with the principles of practice, permit a vigorously creative approach to psychotherapy. We invent new strategies for each unique style of life.

In Classical Adlerian psychotherapy, the risk that the client needs courage to attempt, is specific movement in a direction away from his style of life and goal. Experimentation that does not include this compass direction may be interesting, entertaining, possibly encouraging, but of limited therapeutic value in eventually changing or dissolving the style of life.

A closing analogy. I do not expect my physician to be able switch between the disciplines of traditional medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, nutritional therapy, applied kinesiology, Chi Gung and Tai Chi. If I elect to pursue these paths to health, I will find an expert in each of these disciplines, and then discuss these alternative approaches to treatment with him.

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