Alfred Adler (1870-1937) was the founding father of Individual Psychology and a pioneer in psychosomatics and holistic medicine. He saw all of us as interconnected beings and the depth of fellow feeling as a yardstick for mental health. Individual Psychology is an analytical therapy method in which interpretations, childhood experiences, especially earliest childhood memories and unconscious conflicts play an important role.
A person’s unique life style depicts the way in which we respond to life and is an important term in the field of Individual Psychology (short: IP). As a child, we still need to learn everything from walking to talking which leads to a feeling of inferiority. As such, the inferiority feeling is ubiquitous and non-pathological. It can even be a positive driving force which fosters development and encourages the infant to develop skills and thereby compensate for its inferiority. Parents can lovingly support their child in this developmental journey which Adler called encouragement. The negative counterpart is discouragement.
"All problems are interpersonal relationship problems."
Alfred Adler
Encouragement also plays an important part in the psychotherapeutic process. It opens up space in which corrective experiences can take place, old wounds can heal, and progress becomes possible.
