Adler emphasized the importance of social equality in order to prevent various forms of psychopathology and espoused the development of social interest and democratic family structures as the ideal ethos for raising children. His most famous concept is the inferiority complex which speaks to the problem of self-esteem and its negative compensations (e.g. sometimes producing a paradoxical superiority striving). His emphasis on power dynamics is rooted in the philosophy of Nietzsche. 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 making the case that power dynamics between men and women (and associations with masculinity and femininity) are crucial to understanding human psychology. Adler is considered, along with Freud and Jung, as one of the three founding figures of depth psychology, which emphasizes the unconscious and psychodynamics.
In the slideshow above, Ellen Mendel, C.S.W. NCPsyA and President of the Alfred Adler Institute Board of Trustees, gives an overview of this year’s fall sessions.
