We encountered this technique, also called negative practice, in the preceding section on logotherapy. It can be a very effective technique when certain habits can no longer be controlled. If you suffered from insomnia, you would be asked to focus your attention on staying awake: to put an end to the habit, you would be asked to amplify it. Oddly enough, in many cases, this judo-like dropping of resistance and redirection of attention can bring involuntary behavior back under control.
The Push-Button Technique
Many of us have unpleasant thoughts and emotions that refuse to leave us. We find ourselves on familiar tracks that we know lead to sadness, regret, anger, panic, or frustration. But we can't seem to subdue what Zen calls "these chattering monkeys of the mind." Adler taught clients that they could create whatever feelings in themselves they wished, simply by deciding what to think. It is possible, with some practice, to imagine a happy or peaceful memory or scene and to direct your attention to it when negative thoughts try to dominate. We all have this push button available. Like all exercises in self-discipline, it strengthens us the more we use it. (Cognitive therapy, discussed in Chapter 10, is especially concerned with this influence of thoughts on emotions.)
SETTINGS FOR THERAPY
Adlerians use a variety of settings for therapy. Individual therapy is common, but sometimes two therapists may work together with one client, an approach that gives clients an experience of cooperation between professionals who may perceive them differently. Adlerian workshops are popular with parents concerned with problems in rearing children. Other workshops exist for married couples. Adlerians have often been innovative: Rudolf Dreikurs, a well-known student of Adler, was, for example, one of the first therapists to use group therapy in private practice.
APPLICATIONS OF ADLERIAN PSYCHOTHERAPY
Because Adler did not view human problems as forms of sickness, Adlerians see emotional and behavioral difficulties as blocks that people encounter in their attempts to realize themselves. Many of the problems Adlerian therapists treat are therefore considered to be normal problems of living faced by normal people. Many clients enter therapy to learn about themselves and to grow.
Adlerians have worked with a wide range of clients with a wide range of human problems:
* clients interested in personal development
* individuals who have become deeply discouraged about their lives