Classical Adlerian Depth Psychotherapy, Volume 1 Book Review
Classical Adlerian Depth Psychotherapy: The Congruence of a Theory
CADP Special Edition JIPThe Journal of Individual Psychology, Vol. 70, No. 4, Winter 2014
This overview of the special issue on CADP sets the context in which the issue was conceived, why the given articles were developed, and how they were interwoven to illustrate our history, development and application.
Most of us who practice Classical Adlerian Depth Psychotherapy (CADP) did not get here through the printed word. Rather, as you will see in an article in this issue, we came through personal contact with Henry Stein, either before or after an initial encounter on the Classical Adlerian Psychology website (www.adlerian.us). The quality and substance of these discussions left each of us with an unforgettable impression -- that we were able to master Adler, his theory and his therapy, in our professional as well as our personal lives. Professional and personal congruence with Adler's theory - what a challenge!
This challenge, we came to learn, was a process of intense study over several years, one that would entail not only combing through the breadth of Adler's writings but also close personal analysis and professional mentoring by Stein in order to understand our own psychological movement. The process benefits our therapeutic work, our own optimal functioning, and our personal relationships. Tough enough, but worth every effort.
But now, putting together a journal that does justice to this in-depth and intimate approach has been another challenge, and an enjoyable one. Roy Kern's offer opened the door to this special issue, and he helped it find its way into print. We register here our appreciation for the stimulating opportunity to convey the effectiveness of CADP's therapeutic focus. Have we been successful? You, the reader, will have to decide.
At any rate, and without doubt, we have given it our best. In this issue half a dozen CADP practitioners have joined efforts to express their passion and enjoyment for doing depth psychotherapy. We've organized the journal in three sections that give a flavor of the important factors of CADP: its living history, its clinical application, and its ongoing publications.
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CADP PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE
Having taken the words of an early Classical Adlerian quite seriously, Henry Stein has devoted more than half of his long life to helping new generations rediscover Adler, "from the roots up." Stein's opening presentation includes six candid answers to the question of why one should read Adler in original form. His piece offers a cohesive and concise rationale for studying Adler fully and applying this knowledge responsibly.
The root of this challenge is found in the following article: a gentle admonition by Stein's mentor, Sophia deVries (1901-1999). When she joined Kurt Adler and others in the 1990s to call for translating Adler's clinical works into English from the original German, deVries stepped forward, as usual, by providing the first translations herself. Her brief piece in this issue captures the fire of this fully congruent Adlerian and her passion to pass on the wealth of Adler's theory without settling for abbreviated versions of it.
After these intense calls to read and digest Adler's authentic theory and practice, there follows a thorough interview with Stein by his student, colleague, and friend James Wolf. Wolf considers his time studying with de Vries and Stein together as "a priceless period of foundation building" (personal communication, January 26, 2014). Surely, there is no one more qualified than Wolf to put the range of questions to Stein, bringing out the rich and nuanced history of the Classical Adlerian effort. Wolf has compiled and approved the annotation of several years of these extremely informative, and fun-to-read interviews. We have added headings to them to make major topics recognizable, but we did not want too much disruption of the easygoing conversational style that is so characteristic of an encounter with Stein. The first half of the article addresses Stein's own life and professional development; the second half elaborates on current activities to promote Adler's original clinical method and theory by means of current technologies. The story of his steadfastness in working with Sophia deVries, Anthony Bruck, and others who collaborated closely with Adler is an inspiring one. The interview culminates with a glimpse into the near future and the many creative projects Stein is still engendering.
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CADP CLINICAL APPLICATION
With a solid exposition in place of the questions of when, where, and why Classical Adlerian studies, the question of how comes forward. To get to the nuts and bolts of applying CADP, we have chosen to start with a broad look at those who practice CADP and their clinical settings. We then narrow our view by offering increasingly specific applications of practice. By means of a narrative survey, I try to acquaint the reader with some who have undertaken the rigorous CADP certification training and use it as their therapeutic approach.
The three articles that follow include a family assessment, an individual assessment, and focused examples of the Socratic method in use in single-setting demonstrations. Jane Pfefferle and I describe the process of diagnosing the interconnected needs of a family in therapy. We use numerous visual aids of a single case example and invite the reader to question along with us. The objective is to traverse the Classical Adlerian family diagnostic process and distill some interactions of the family's life-style dynamics in preparation for providing family therapy. Dyanne Pienkowski tightens this assessment process by showing specifically how the Adlerian Client Questionnaire can be used to assess an adult child of an alcoholic. Her guessing in the direction of psychological movement and life-style issues, and how they will be dealt with in therapy, is a stimulating example of CADP's adaptable and effective application. We close this section with three samples of Sophia de Vries in action. Stein captured several of de Vries's demonstrations of Socratic questioning during his years of study with her. By means of the process he alludes to in his interview with Wolf, Stein supplies the logic deVries used in her masterful questioning.
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CADP PUBLICATIONS
The final pages of the issue are devoted to the growing list of books that contribute to a deeper understanding of Adler's theory and clinical method. With The Collected Clinical Works of Alfred Adler available, as well as several other contributions from Classical Adlerians, Stein has begun his own long-awaited series of books. The first in his series of four is reviewed by Dyanne Pienkowski, and a complete list of Classical Adlerian publications (formatted for easy citation in APA style) concludes the special issue.
I would like to take a little space here to express my personal indebtedness to Henry Stein. His providing us English speakers with access to the complete body of Adler's theory and keeping Adler's original methodology available to us are both inspiring gifts. Having been originally schooled in mainstream Adlerian counseling methods, I was introduced while still in college to Adler's theory; having taught in Adlerian institutes thereafter, I had always encouraged students to keep studying Adler in the original if they wanted to absorb his full knowledge of humanity (Menschenkenntnis). I had learned about the healing possibilities of the practice and applied what I knew for many years; but still, I bumped up against professional limitations that -- like all inferiority feelings -- were going to be an avenue either of discouragement or of motivation to overcome them. I was determined to go deeper into the theory so that I could go further with my clients.
Then came my encounter with Henry. I could not have known what was awaiting me. I would like to attempt to describe what it has been like to come upon a fully congruent individual and how Henry's penetrating insight of Adler's original theory began to inspire me. Henry is living evidence that by thoroughly embedding oneself in Adler's theory, it is only a matter of time and work before one can understand his or her client's psychological movement. Trust the theory, he says. Echoing Sophia de Vries, Henry encourages students to let it sink into their bones, and to saturate themselves with the concepts, so they can fully open themselves to the client and not worry about losing direction in the clinical setting -- no matter how tough it gets. Henry's method of mentorship training has allowed me to experience the guidance, the support, and the call to constant improvement that continue to deepen my clinical application. On a more personal level, my own training analysis with Henry has allowed me to experience his gentleness, sensitivity, humor, and humility, and his encouraging way of inviting me to step beyond the comfort of my own life style and work toward its dissolution.
For now, our hope is that this issue's factual account of how Classical Adlerian Depth Psychotherapy got under way and its demonstration of the benefit of applying Adler's original constructs, will inspire the reader as it inspired us. Better yet, we hope readers visit the website (www.adlerian.us) and consider contacting Henry for information on training in CADP.