Alfred Adler and the Individual Psychology.
Alfred Adler (1870-1937). On February 7 1870 Austrian psychiatrist and ophthalmologist Alfred W. Adler was born. He is best known for being the founder of the school of individual psychology Alfred Adler considered human beings as an individual whole, therefore he called his psychology "Moreover, Adler also was the first to emphasize the importance of the social element in the re-adjustment process of the individual and who carried psychiatry into the community. Alfred Adler was born in Rudolfsheim in the suburbs of Vienna as third of the seven children of a Hungarian-born, Jewish grain merchant and his wife. At the age of four, Alfred developed pneumonia and heard a doctor say to his father, "Your boy is lost". At that point, he decided to become a physician. He was very interested in the subjects of psychology sociology as well as philosophy. After studying at University of Vienna he recieived a medical degree in 1895 First he specialized as an eye doctor and later in neurology and psychiatry. He established his office across from the Prater the famous e amusement park and circus in the lower class part of Vienna. Most his clients were circus performers. He studied their unusual strengths and weaknesses, and this gave him insights on his organ inferiority theory. In 1902 Adler received an invitation from Sigmund Freud to join an informal discussion group the "(Mittwochsgesellschaft), which met regularly on Wednesday evenings at Freud's home and was the beginning of the psychoanalytic movement. A long-serving member of the group, in 1910 Adler became president of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. He remained a member of the Society until 1911 when he and a group of his supporters formally disengaged from Freud's circle the first of the great dissenters from orthodox psychoanalysis preceding Carl Jung's split in 1914. This departure suited both Freud and Adler since they had grown to dislike each other. While Adler is often referred to as a "a pupil of Freud's in fact this was never true; they were colleagues Adler founded the Society for Individual Psychology in 1912 after his break from the psychoanalytic movement. Their enmity aside, Adler retained a lifelong admiration for Freud's ideas on dreams and credited him with creating a scientific approach to their clinical utilization Nevertheless, even regarding dream interpretation Adler had his own theoretical and clinical approach. The primary differences between Adler and Freud centered on Adler's contention that the social realm (exteriority) is as important to psychology as is the internal realm (interiority). The dynamics of power and compensation extend beyond sexuality and gender and politics can be as important as libido Freud also did not share Adler's socialist beliefs. Adler enjoyed considerable success and celebrity in building an independent school of psychotherapy and a unique personality theory. He traveled and lectured for a period of 25 years promoting his socially oriented approach. His intent was to build a movement that would rival, even supplant, others in psychology by arguing for the holistic integrity of psychological well-being with that of social equality Adler's efforts were halted by World War I, during which he served as a doctor with the Austrian Army. From 1921 onwards, Adler was a frequent lecturer in Europe and the United States becoming a visiting professor at Columbia University in 1927. Adler was concerned with the overcoming of the superiority dynamic and was one of the first psychotherapists to discard the analytic couch in favor of two chairs. This allows the clinician and patient to sit together more or less as equals. Adler argued for holism viewing the individual holistically rather than reductively, the latter being the dominant lens for viewing human psychology Adler was also among the first in psychology to argue in favor of feminism and the female analyst making the case that power dynamics between men and women are crucial to understanding human psychology. In the early 1930s after most ofAustrian clinics had been closed due to his Jewish heritage, Adler left Austria for a professorship at the Long Island College of Medicine in the USA. In 1937 Adler went on a lecture tour and suffered a fatal heart attack in Aberdeen, Scotland. Around the world there are various organizations promoting Adler's orientation towards mental and social well-being. These include the International Committee of Adlerian Summer Schools and Institutes (ICASSI), the North American Society for Adlerian Psychology (NASAP) and the International Association for Individual Psychology Teaching institutes and programs exist in Austria Canada England Germany Greece Israel Italy Japan Latvia Switzerland the United States Jamaica Peru and Wales Adler left behind many theories and practices that very much influenced the world of psychiatry Today these concepts are known as Adlerian psychology. At yovisto, Dr. Paul Bloom of Yale University in his 2007 course on 'Introduction to Psychology' introduces the students to the theories of Sigmund Freud, including a brief biographical description and his contributions to the field of psychology. The limitations of his theories of psychoanalysis are covered in detail, as well as the ways in which his conception of the unconscious mind still operate in mainstream psychology today.