Breaking Out of the Vicious Circle of Discouragement
Breaking Out of the Vicious Circle of Discouragement
GraphicHenry T. Stein Clinical Archives
The following chart was originally developed by Anthony Bruck, a master of Adlerian brief therapy who studied directly with Alfred Adler. It was first used as part of a series of ten graphic aids designed for brief therapy and for teaching Adlerian psychology to adults and children, and has since become part of the Classical Adlerian Depth Psychotherapy pedagogical tradition.
In the Vicious Circle of Self-Discouragement (above left), at point A the person feels and thinks, "I ‘cannot do it.” Then at point B he does not try. As a result, at point C, the person has no encouraging experiences. Then he is back at point A again and he continues to feel and think "I cannot do it." The person goes on with a negative attitude toward self.
To help people out of their vicious circles, one has to find ways to give them the Perhaps Bridge over to the Beneficial Circle of Self-Encouragement. If the person feels and thinks "Perhaps I can do it” at point D, then at point E he exposes himself to new experiences and keeps trying. Then at point F he ‘makes his own encouraging experiences. The result is a self-encouraging feeling "I can do i."