Re:Adlerian Ideas Disparaged

Yes, often when I see Adler discussed in the literature I find his concepts discussed on a very superficial level, treated lightly, or dismissed based upon incorrect assumptions about the theory. Yes, I see this among authors of psychotherapy reports, articles, and books and I also experience it among my colleagues. Of course this is not always true, but it seems to be the rule more often than the exception. After running across it again in my latest reading I chose to use this forum to vent. That is all. I think one reason for disparaging of the theory by others is that Adler's theory does not compress easily into a simple diagram of Id, ego, and superego with a neat developmental stage chart. Some may have a difficult time picturing how the theory works for this reason and therefore make inaccurate conclusions about it's application. Another reason may be that it is not quickly summed up in a ABC formula like RET or one sentence explanation about how our thoughts influence our emotions as Beck often does. Individual Psychology is deceptively simple on the surface which may lead some to jump to conclusions about its scope. On the other hand, Adler's writing is very hard to follow and some may have dismissed it for this reason. Another reason may be the way Adler used common language for labeling his complex concepts. Striving for superiority, style of life, tasks of life, social interest, common since, private logic, world view, and so on. It is easy to assume the meaning of these concepts by their face implication. I suppose some people have done this and wrongly assume that this kind of knowledge is sufficient. What ever the cause, it is annoying.

Craig

Replies:

Re:Adlerian Ideas Disparaged , by Tom, 08/19/01 Re:Adlerian Ideas Disparaged , by , 08/21/01

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