Adlerian Group Therapy Essay

According to Glanz and Hayes (1967) sort Counseling and assembly terapy are almost contradictory concepts to he individual non familiar with the detailed practices present and groups, counceling, and therapy. multiple counseling, group counselling, and the lmost interchangeble use of counseling and psychotherapy have added to the uncertainty of the dimensions and true nature of these new concepts.Adlerian in radical CounselingAccording to Corey (202) Adler was a politic whollyy and favorablely oriented psychiatrist who showed great concern for the common psyche. Indeed, many of his early clients were working-class people who struggled to moderate a living, raise and educate their children, and make a difference in society. Part of Adlers mission was to bring psychological understanding to the general race and to translate psychological concepts into practical methods for helping a varied population meet the ch all in allenges of everyday life. Alfred Adler made signifi cant c ontributions to contemporary therapeutic practice. Adler thinkd in the social nature of human beings, and he was interested in working with clients in a group context.He established more than 30 child guidance clinics in which he pioneered live demonstrations by interviewing children, adults, teachers, and parents in front of community groups. He was the fi rst psychiatrist to use group methods in a systematic style in child guidance centers in the 1920s in Vienna. To fully appreciate the development of the practice of Adlerian psychology, one must recognize the contributions of Rudolf Dreikurs, who was largely amenable for extending and popularizing Adlers work and transplanting Adlers ideas to the United States. He did a great deal to translate Adlerian principles into the practice of group psychotherapy, and he used group psychotherapy in his private practice for more than 40 years (see Dreikurs, 1960, 1967, 1997). Dreikurs developed and refi ned Adlers concepts into a clear-c ut, teachable system with practical applications for family life, education, preventive genial health, and, especially, group psychotherapy (Terner & Pew, 1978).Dreikurs was a key fi gure in developing the Adlerian family education centers in the United States. Work with children and their parents in a group setting paved the way for Dreikurss pioneering group psychotherapy.It is believed that Dreikurs was the fi rst person to use group therapy in a private practice. Adlerian interventions have been widely applied to diverse client populations of all ages in many different settings. Adlerian group therapy is an integration of key concepts of Adlerian psychology with socially constructed, systemic, and brief approaches based on the holistic model developed by Dreikurs (Sonstegard & Bitter, 2004).Objectives of Adlerian company TherapyEstablishing and maintaining an emphatic race amidst clients and counselor that is based on mutual trust and respect and in which the client feels un derstood and accepted by the group. Providing a therapeutic climate in which clients can come to understand their basics beliefs and feelings about themselves and discover why those beliefs are faulty. helping clients develop perceptivity into their mistaken goals and self-defeating behaviors through a ferment of confrontatio and interpretation. assisting clients in discovering alternatives and encouraging them to make choices that is, put sagacitys into action. Group provides a mirror of persons behavior.Group members both recieve and give help.TechniquesTHE FAMILY CONSTELLATION Adler considered the family of origin as having a central impact on an individuals personality. Adler suggested that it was through the family constellation that each person forms his or her unique view of self, others, and life. Factors such as cultural and familial values, gender-role expectations, and the nature of interpersonal relationships are all infl uenced by a childs observation of the fundamen tal interactional patterns within the family. Adlerian assessment relies heavily on an exploration of the clients family constellation, including the clients evaluation of conditions that prevailed in the family when the person was a young child (family atmosphere), birth order, parental relationship and family values, and extended family and culture.EARLY RECOLLECTIONS As you will recall, another assessment procedure used by Adlerians is to use up the client to provide his or her earliest memories, including the age of the person at the time of the remembered events and the feelings or reactions associated with the recollections. Early recollections are one-time occurrences pictured by the client in clear detail. Adler reasoned that out of the millions of early memories we might have we select those special memories that project the essential convictions and even the basic mistakes of our lives. Early recollections are a series of small mysteries that can be woven together and pro vide a tapestry that leads to an understanding of how we view ourselves, how we see the world, what our life goals are, what motivates us, what we value and believe in, and what we anticipate for our future (Clark, 2002 Mosak & Di Pietro, 2006).BIRTH OEDER AND SIBLING RELATIONSHIP The Adlerian approach is unique in giving special attention to the relationships between siblings and the psychological birth short letter in ones family. Adler identified five psychological posts, or vantage points, from which children tend to view life oldest, second of only two, middle, youngest, and only.Stages of the Alerian Group Therapy microscope stage 1 ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAININGCOHESIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEMBERSIn the initial stage the emphasis is on establishing a good therapeutic relationship based on cooperation, collaboration, egalitarianism, and mutual respect. By attendance to the relationship from the first session, counselors are laying a foundation for cohesive ness and connection. Adlerians hold that the successful outcomes of the other group stages are based on establishing and maintaining a strong therapeutic relationship at the initial stage of counseling (Watts & Eckstein, 2009). Group participants are encouraged to be active in the process because they are responsible for their own participation in the group. The group situation provides sample opportunity to work on trust issues and to strengthen the relationship between member and leader. Also, by witnessing positive changes in peers, participants can see how well the group works.STAGE 2 ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT (EXPLORING THE INDIVIDUALS DYNAMICS)The come of the second stage is twofold understanding ones lifestyle and seeing how it is affecting ones current functioning in all the tasks of life (Mosak & Maniacci, 2011). During this assessment stage, emphasis is on the individual in his or her social and cultural context. Adlerians do not try to fi t clients into a gestate model rather, they allow sal ient cultural identity concepts to emerge and attend to a clients personal meaning of culture (Carlson & Englar-Carlson, 2008). The leader may begin by exploring how the participants are functioning at work and in social situations and how they feel about themselves and their gender-role identities.STAGE 3 AWARENESS AND INSIGHTWhereas the classical analytic position is that personality cannot change unless there is insight, the Adlerian view is that insight is a special form of awareness that facilitates a meaningful understanding within the counseling relationship and acts as a foundation for change. Yet this awareness is not, in and of itself, enough to bring about signifi cant change. It is a means to an end, not an end in itself. According to Carlson and Englar-Carlson (2008), the Adlerian approach is both insight oriented and action oriented. Although insight into our problems can be useful, it is essential that this awareness leads to constructive movement toward desired goals . It is to be noted that people can make abrupt and signifi cant changes without much insight.STAGE 4 REORIENTATION AND REEDUCATIONThe end product of the group process is change of direction and reeducation. The reorientation stage consists of both the group leaders and the members working together to challenge erroneous beliefs about self, life, and others. The emphasis is on considering alternative beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes. During this stage, members put insight into action, making new choices that are more consistent with their desired goals (Carlson & Englar-Carlson, 2008). There is a change in members attitudes toward their current life situation and the problems they need to solve. This reorientation is an educational experience. Adlerian groups are characterized by an attempt to reorient faulty living patterns and teach a better understanding of the principles that result in cooperative interaction (Sonstegard & Bitter, 2004). One of the aims is teaching participant s how to become more effective in dealing with the tasks of life. Another aim is challenging and encouraging clients to take risks and make changes.ReferencesCorey, G. (2012), Theories And Practice of Group Couneling Eight edition. United States, 2008 Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.Corey, G. (2009), Theories And Practice of Counseling and Psychoterapy. United States, 2005 Thomson Brooks/Cole.z