KURT
ADLER
Alfred Adler Institute of New York: Founder
Son of Alfred Adler
Described by colleagues as a systematizer and interpreter of his father's work, he was a consistent advocate for Adler's understanding of social interest - the conviction that genuine mental health is inseparable from one's felt connection to and responsibility for the wider community - and for the equal standing of women, a commitment Adler himself had held from the earliest days of Individual Psychology.
His connection to AAIsr's own work was direct and meaningful. As the Classical Adlerian Translation Project took shape, Kurt Adler served as a reviewer, helping to ensure that the translated material faithfully reflected his father's original ideas as he himself had understood them. That contribution places him not only in the historical lineage of the movement but in the living transmission this institute works to preserve.
Second child of Alfred Adler, Kurt carried his father's work forward across six decades of clinical practice, teaching, and institutional leadership. He earned a PhD in physics from the University of Vienna in 1935 before obtaining his MD from Long Island College of Medicine in 1941. Following service as a psychiatrist in the US Army during World War II, he established a private practice in New York City that spanned nearly fifty years.
In 1948 he founded the Alfred Adler Institute of New York, serving as its medical director and president.
KURT ADLER [1905 - 1997]