Comparing Psychoanalytic and Adlerian Approaches in Health Counseling

This essay provides a comparative analysis of psychoanalytic therapy, developed by Sigmund Freud, and Adlerian therapy. It highlights the core concepts of psychoanalytic theory, including the emphasis on the unconscious, the roles of the id, ego, and superego, and the significance of psychosexual development. In contrast, it explores Adlerian therapy's focus on feelings of inferiority versus superiority, the importance of social context and belonging, and the influence of birth order on personality. The essay contrasts Freud's belief in the dominance of unconscious drives and sexual factors with Adler's emphasis on conscious awareness, social interaction, and holistic personality development. The analysis concludes by underscoring the importance of considering these theoretical differences when providing counseling to individuals to effectively address their specific needs and promote overall health.

Counseling

Counseling
“Comparison of two theories of counseling”
Counseling is related to the psychological concept in which it has been seen that
focus is given on giving advice to the individuals so that they can take right decision which is
beneficial for their future. It can be stated that there are various different theories related to
counseling (Carkhuff, 2017). Like Person centered therapy, gestalt therapy, psychoanalytic
therapy, Adlerian therapy and existential therapy. In this paper, the discussion will be made on
the two different theories in counseling and comparison will be made by considering both the
theories of counseling. Two theories that will be discussed in this paper are psychoanalytic
therapy and Adlerian therapy. In this the counseling sector which is selected relates to health
counseling. The comparison between these theories relates to the overall personality of the
individual. Freud focuses on splitting the personality into components and Alder believes that
the person should be analyzed on the whole.
Psychoanalytic therapy is considered as one the famous counseling theory that was
given by Sigmund Freud. His ideas focus mainly on self-exploration when he faced emotional
problems in his life. In this it has been analyzed that in this theory the focus is given on the
human consciousness and unconsciousness. He showcased the idea of Ego in which he stated
that scientific and fact based information related to ego will not be gathered by achieving
isolation of the phenomenon in relation to mind and consciousness. The theory states that
there is much more related with the personality of the individual. With the passage of time it
can be analyzed there is ego and super ego. In this the counseling can be given to the individual
by considering the aspects related to ego and super ego. It can help to offer accurate decision to
the individual and will also show the right path which should be considered. It will also help to
maintain their health by focusing on the factors related to Ego and super ego (Robey,
Wubbolding & Malters, 2017).
Freud focused on the human psyche related with sexual perspective and also with the
overall concept of Id, ego and super ego have the connection with the psycho sexual
perspective. He explained this theory by emphasizing on the three components which are Id,
Ego and super ego. It has been investigated that ID is considered as one of the factor that is
considered to the view the world and also it operates solely on natural distinct. The next part is
1

Counseling
related with ego, in which the focus is given on the overall norms and values of the society and
also it provide ID from working on the instincts. The last one is related with Super Ego in
which it states that Ego is maintaining the harmony with the entire laws of the society. Also,
super ego relates with the overall perfection which is considered as the part of the human
beings. These should be considered so that the overall health of the individual can be
maintained (Shahar & Schiller, 2016).
It has been seen that the goal of the Freud is to focus on proper understanding of human
mind and also he focused on various methods that can help to maintain the psychological
disorders. Through this it can be seen that proper counseling can be given to the people and it
can be easy to know about their mindset. It has been seen that with this theory the focus is also
given on developing the personality of the individual so that it can be easy for them to consider
those steps which impact their overall living standard. So, it can be stated that this theory is
beneficial for the overall development of the individual and it can be beneficial in maintaining
the entire health (Goodman, Reed & Athey-Lloyd, 2015).
Whereas as compared to Adlerian therapy it has been analyzed that it is considered as
the short term and goal oriented therapy in which the focus is given on the overall research
related to the feeling of inferiority versus superiority, discouragement and also sense of
belongingness. It can be stated that according to Alder, feeling of inferiority can be the
outcome of the negative behavior. It has been seen that it is also emphasizes on the overall
personality of the individual while considering proper understanding and accepting the
interconnectedness of the people.
This approach is considered to maintain the psychological issue related to mental
illness. It can also be considered in the conjunction of the other approaches related to play
therapy and art therapy as it emphasizes on the requirement of the people. Adlerian approach
can be used at the time of giving counseling to children, adults and couples. So, it can be stated
that Alders theory focuses on the order in which the children are born to influence the overall
attitudes which consider the overall health (Gelso, Nutt Williams & Fretz, 2014).
It can be stated that Freud believes that the conscience and unconscious were different
and the person who is unconscious would not be controlled. Freud also believes that the analyst
2

Counseling
can consider the techniques related to free association to gather the data. But on the other hand
it can be seen that conscious and unconscious can complete the task with harmony. It can be
stated that unconscious mind is when the person is not able to understand anything and
conscious mind is when the person can understand everything. So, in this case the Adler can
believe that these both can be switch to each other. It is important to enhance the awareness of
the people so that they can get to know about the actual concept related to what is right and
what is wrong for their health (Sperry, 2018).
Freud believes that the human instinct was based on the sexual factor and he also
considered free association so that it can be easy for the people to recall the issues related with
sex. Adler also believes that the human personality was developed on the social platform and
also focus is given on the birth factor. He did not ignore the overall influence of biology.
It can be also stated that Freud theory was also revised and shows that the human mind
had basic components which are three in number like Id, Ego and Superego. Alder also
published a book in which the focus is given to perceive the patient as the whole individual.
So, Freud enhanced the tendency to carve the individual up into rigid and clear the concepts
like Ego, Id and superego which do not relate with Alder. The counseling can be given easily
to the people by focusing on the factors related to Ego, ID and super ego (Sperry &
Binensztok, 2018).
So, it can be stated that the comparison based on the theory states that Freud focuses on
the sexual factor and Alder believes on the human personality. Therefore, at the time of giving
counseling it is important to consider these factors so that it can help them to maintain the
health of the people. It can be also help in giving proper advice to the individual by considering
the mindset of the people.
3

Counseling
References
Carkhuff, R. (2017). Toward effective counseling and psychotherapy: Training and practice.
Routledge.
Gelso, C. J., Nutt Williams, E., & Fretz, B. R. (2014). Counseling psychology. American
Psychological Association.
Goodman, G., Reed, P., & Athey-Lloyd, L. (2015). Mentalization and play therapy processes
between two therapists and a child with Asperger’s disorder. International Journal of
Play Therapy, 24(1), 13.
Robey, P. A., Wubbolding, R. E., & Malters, M. (2017). A Comparison of Choice Theory and
Reality Therapy to Adlerian Individual Psychology. The Journal of Individual
Psychology, 73(4), 283-294.
Shahar, G., & Schiller, M. (2016). A conqueror by stealth: Introduction to the special issue on
humanism, existentialism, and psychotherapy integration. Journal of Psychotherapy
Integration, 26(1), 1.
Sperry, L. (2018). Achieving evidence-based status for Adlerian therapy: Why it is needed and
how to accomplish it. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 74(3), 247-263.
Sperry, L., & Binensztok, V. (2018). Adlerian Pattern-Focused Therapy: A Treatment
Manual. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 74(3), 309-348.
4