0.3 Alfred adler and harry stack sullivan  (Page 23/37)

Discussion Question: What are your earliest memories, especially of your mother, father, and sense of self? Can you see a clear relationship between the content of those memories and your style of life? How does your life plan fit with those memories?

Strengthening Social Interest and Reorienting the Style of Life

Adler believed that everyone has some degree of social interest, but in neurotic and psychotic patients there is relatively less. He described Freudian transference as an expression of the patient’s social interest, directed toward the therapist. Resistance is simply the patient lacking the courage (i.e., feeling too inferior) to return to social usefulness and cooperation with others. The therapist must, therefore, help the patient to strengthen their social interest and reorient their style of life. Since the style of life is creatively formed, it becomes important to understand how and when the failed style of life began. Just as the individual took time and was selective in the formation of their failed style of life, the therapist must take time to understand it and educate the patient about it (Adler, 1913b/1963, 1929/1964, 1930c, 1932b/1964, 1958).

Individual Psychology stresses enormously that the psychological development of a person can reach a normal condition only when he can achieve the necessary degree of ability to cooperate. (pg. 199; Adler, 1932b/1964)

It is almost impossible to exaggerate the value of an increase in social feeling…The feeling of worth and value is heightened, giving courage and an optimistic view…The individual feels at home in life and feels his existence to be worthwhile just so far as he is useful to others… (pg. 79; Adler, 1929/1964)

There are numerous ways in which a therapist can help a client to increase their social interest. It begins with the therapist openly communicating with and accepting the patient, which is, of course, a social interaction. This is especially effective if the therapist displays social feeling themselves, while also helping the patient to recognize the patient’s value as a human being (as well as the value of other people). The therapist can point out that if other people, including the therapist, had the same values, goals, and cognitive orientation as the patient then others would also have the same problems as the patient. The therapist can then nudge the patient toward their own niche, where they can feel comfortable with others without fearing being the loser in personal interactions. And finally, the therapist can encourage the patient to get involved in concerns outside themselves (Nikelly, 1971b). Each of these ways of encouraging social interest can be a part of the reorientation and readjustment process, the “working-through” phase of therapy, in which the patient gains insight into their style of life, confronts their goals, and realizes that they are capable of making choices and decisions (Nikelly&Bostrom, 1971). The patient must be encouraged to understand and believe that they have the power to implement their insights and change their life.