Alfred Adler was the founder of Adlerian Counseling. He was born in 1870 in the country of Austria. who gave his theory the name Individual Psychology, because he wanted people to see that his theory and methods were designed to help clients help themselves. He believed that everyone had and internal need to be a part of society, and a desire to contribute to that society. That everyone strives for perfection, and everyone initially feels inferior to everyone else. He believed that when that feeling is not overcome, inferiority complexes develop, and if a person tries to overcompensate for inferiority, the develop superiority complex. The biggest emphasis Alder placed on his theory was the order in which an individual was born. He felt that people who share birth positions may have more in common than siblings from the same family. His theory showed that oldest child may become authoritarian or strict, feel that power is his or her right, can become helpful if encouraged, and may turn to father after birth of next child. That second born children are more competitive, want to overtake their older sibling, and competition can deteriorate into rivalry. That middle children may be even-tempered with a "take it or leave it" attitude, that they may have trouble finding a place or become a fighter of injustice. That youngest children wants to be bigger than the others, may have huge plans that never work out, can stay the "baby", and are frequently spoiled. That only children like being the center of adult attention, often have difficulty sharing with siblings and peers, and prefer adult company and the use adult language. His opinion was that a counselor should function primarily as a teacher and model for the client. That they should have a health relationship in which both counselor and client are on equal grounds. The counselors job, according to Adler, was to learn why clients think and behave the way they do; by gathering i...
