The Adlerian Model: Core Theoretical Components

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Throughout history, most genuinely good ideas have been the same ideas, albeit presented differently by philosophers and theorists or presented only in part by different schools of thought. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Alfred Adler compiled good ideas and presented an elegant framework for understanding the human condition. A hundred years have passed, and nothing has suggested that Adler got it wrong or missed any critical factor. But as with any model, followers and theoretical visitors pick and choose their favorite elements of the theory and fail to understand the model’s core elements. Without a holistic understanding, the elegance and potential usefulness of the model can be lost. This article distinguishes the core theoretical components from more tangential aspects to provide a theoretical overview and useful model of the human condition, which should make the more tangential aspects of this model and other approaches more understandable and sensibly applied.