Alfred Adler and Individual Psychology

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Alfred Adler was born February 7, 1870 in Vienna, Austria. He was the second child of seven children. Adler became sick at a very young age, he was diagnosed with rickets. Rickets is a disorder caused by lack of Vitamin D and Calcium, which softens the bones. Adler was not able to walk until he reached the age of 4. Also, at the age of four, Adler developed pneumonia and was said by the doctors that he had very small chances of staying alive. At that moment it is when Adler decided that he wanted to be a physician. He became healthy as he grew older and went out to study at the University of Vienna. He graduated in 1895 with a medical degree, and began his career as an ophthalmologist (an eye doctor). He had his office across from the Prater in Vienna, which is an amusement park along with a circus all together. His clients were circus performers and from interacting with them, and by observing their strengths and weakness, that is where his insights on organ inferiorities theory began. As years passed on his interest in psychology grew and was invited by Freud in 1902 to attend a psychoanalytical discussion group. The group met every Wednesday at Freud’s home, was known as the “Vienna Psychoanalytic Society”, and that was the beginning of the psychoanalytic movement. After eight long years of serving as a member of the society, Adler became president of the society in 1910. But that only lasted another year, in 1911, Adler separated from Freud’s group due to his disagreements; Adler rejected Freud’s ideas emphasizing in sex. He was later known as a Neo-Freudian with many others. Neo-Freudian, were a group of theorists who were influenced by Sigmund Freud, but who extended his theories towards their own direction. ...

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...problems on their own, and understand his insights on their life style. He believed patients couldn’t be forced into understanding their problems. Adler thought that if he told his patients directly, “look, this is what your problem is!”, he or she will not want to continue therapy and pull away from help instead, because people do not like to be told what’s wrong with them. To Adler a patient had to be willing and in the correct state of mind to be able to listen and must want to understand to get his help. That’s the only way he could influence his patients and help them out using his theories. The therapists could encourage the patients by creating an honest relationship with them and gain their trust, but he believed that all the responsibility of finding a cure is all up to the patient and not up to the therapists. One must want it to get it.
Adler’s

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