What’s This Man Have to Do with You?

Absolutely everything! You probably have no idea who this man is, yet if you had the chance to meet him, he would have understood you on a deep level. 

Let me introduce you to Alfred Adler, one of the founding fathers of psychodynamic theory along with Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Why if this man is so important have you not heard of him? Because Adler was not interested in celebrity or prolific writing, he was interested in being out on the streets helping people. His Individual Psychology a.k.a. Adlerian theory was a practical approach meant to be applied.

Unlike most professional counselors who are trained as generalists, I was trained as a specialist in Adlerian theory. My actual MA is in Adlerian Counseling and Psychotherapy. This provides for me a solid framework on how I conceptualize human behavior and it informs the interventions I use to support you in meeting your goals.

Adlerian theory includes the following tenets:

·      It’s a depth, psychodynamic psychotherapy.

·      People are complex, unique, and cannot be divided into parts. It’s a holistic, biopsychosocial model.  

·      All behavior is purpose driven including symptoms. We all want our best lives and are motivated by seeking belonging, security, and significance.

·      It encourages social interest and connection to self, others, and the spiritual sense.

Through a creative process, we all design our own individual style of living (a.k.a. lifestyle, personality) which is influenced by family history, birth order, family climate, in utero experience, genetics, neurophysiology, attachment style, toxic exposure, traumatic events, and life experiences. Our personality is largely formed by the time we are 6-10 years old with the ages of 3-6 being incredibly formative. We design our concept of self, others, and the world around us and this dictates how we move through life; expressed through our actions, thoughts, and emotions. Problem being this is often based on our child logic which no longer serves us in adulthood. As human beings if our needs are not met, we try all kinds of creative (crazy) things to get them met, some of them adaptive and socially interested, and others not so much.

And that’s whereas a therapist I can support you! It is my honor to meet you with curiosity and guide you in better understanding yourself and how, when, and why you designed your personality (lifestyle). Once you have a deeper understanding and more insight then I will encourage you to make actionable changes and hold you accountable through the process. Lifestyle can be changed with intention and practice. We do not have to navigate life based off of our childhood logic anymore.

Please call for a free consultation (651) 300-4939 and to discuss how this therapeutic approach could assist you in creating a life well lived.