Who originated Adlerian Therapy?

• A. Sigmund Freud
• B. Alfred Adler
• C. Carl Jung
• D. Carl Rogers

Answer: (B)

Adlerian Therapy was originated by Alfred Adler, who founded Individual Psychology and introduced a social, goal-directed approach to counseling. Adler moved beyond a sole focus on past conflicts or inner drives, emphasizing that people are motivated by a striving for significance and by feelings of inferiority, which shape their unique lifestyle or pattern of behavior. Therapy centers on understanding this lifestyle, uncovering the client’s private logic, and guiding them toward more constructive goals that enhance social connectedness and usefulness to others. Techniques like exploring early memories, assessing family dynamics, and encouraging steps toward meaningful, collaborative living are used to shift the client from self-protective patterns to a more adaptive, socially oriented way of functioning. This framing—purposeful behavior within a social context—is what distinguishes Adlerian Therapy as Alfred Adler’s creation, separate from Freud’s psychoanalysis, Jung’s analytical psychology, or Rogers’ client-centered approach.