Re:Adlerian Counseling-Personality Disorders

I think one of the great strengths of Individual Psychology is the concept of the life-style. What are considered "Personality Disorders" could be redefined in terms of life-style and ones fictional final goal. I work with several individuals that are diagnosed with "Antisocial Personality Disorder." This diagnosis is useful for research purposes but not useful for treatment. Some basic things that have come out of research is that individuals with this diagnosis get worse with therapy that focuses on affect and development of empathy but seem to respond well to treatment that focuses on consequences. My treatment is based in Adlerian Theory takes this direction: I use Socratic method, lead questions to highlight the natural and logical consequences of their choices. I also persistently ask questions of what others would think about their choices and the consequences of their choice being congruent versus incongruent with society. I plot patterns of current behavior, seek to identify physical and emotional pay offs for that behavior, and then go backward to early recollections around these payoffs. This helps me guess at the unconscious life-style and factional final goal. To change personality changes must be made here. So the work goes to encouraging them to see that what worked for them as a child is not working for them as an adult and it is very destructive to relationships in society or useless at best. New ways of perceiving the world are explored, new solutions for problems are explored in reference to social interest. This is how I use the theory in the treatment of this personality disorder.

Craig

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