ADLER bases its Mission, Academic Goals, and educational niche on the philosophical assumptions of Individual Psychology, a comprehensive science-of-living system originated and developed by the well-known Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler (1870-1937) who promoted basic values of community and social justice.
Although ADLER’s educational orientation is rooted in Adlerian philosophy, all major approaches, theories, and modalities that contribute to mental health and well-being are represented in ADLER curricula. Our experience and professional expertise suggest that a firm grounding in a broad-based theory, such as Adlerian Philosophy, provides a foundation for developing high-level cognitive and emotional capacity for comparing and evaluating other theories.
Individual Psychology, or Adlerian Psychology, emphasizes the uniqueness of every individual and stresses the individual’s social embeddedness. At the core of the School’s approach to professional education in mental health and well-being is a philosophical assumption about the dynamics of being human: We are all caught in a paradoxical tension between being ourselves, the centre and creator of our own phenomenological universe, and fulfilling the demands of a social community without which we cannot survive. On the one hand, we are all unique human beings with a strong need and desire to express ourselves fully in our life and work. On the other hand, we are subjected to pushes and pulls in a web of relationships as a member of multiple systems and an irretrievable part of humanity. Our creativity in resolving this seeming paradox between autonomy and affiliation determines, to a significant extent, our level of success and fulfillment and, according to Adler, even our mental health. The key to resolving the paradox lies in using our unique selves to make a contribution to and with others. Adler calls this “social interest.”
Our goal at ADLER is to develop professionals whose work will be thoroughly grounded in the intention to help clients creatively resolve and transcend this paradox between autonomy and affiliation — that is, to develop social interest. Even when that work is narrowly focused on a specific issue or area, we believe that operating from such a higher-level intention will enhance both healing and possibilities for growth and development.