Adlerian Family Therapy

The term Adlerian family therapy refers to a systems-based intervention process with families that is informed by individual psychology as originated by [Page 15]Alfred Adler and by its applications as developed by Rudolf Dreikurs and his associates. Adlerian family therapy covers a multitude of family interventions, ranging from lifestyle restructuring when parents are extremely dysfunctional to open-forum family counseling, family education centers, and the psychoeducational models used in parent study groups. This entry describes the origins of this model of therapy, its foundation in Adler’s individual psychology, and its systematic development by Rudolf Dreikurs. The structure of the model is presented from the formation of a therapeutic relationship through assessment of relational patterns within families and psychological disclosure to reorientation of family processes. Open-forum family ...