PORT TOWNSEND — His theories are the source of the positive discipline and effective parenting movement.
He was the first to note the effect of birth order on personality.
He originated the concept of self-actualization, believing that the key to successful human development is encouragement, and that the purpose of human life is to contribute to the community.
Alfred Adler is considered one of the “big three” of modern psychology, but he is not a household name like Carl Jung or Sigmund Freud.
The reason, according to Robert Powers of Port Townsend: after Adler split with Freud in 1911 and started his own group, Freud instructed his followers not to refer to Adler except to discredit him.
“He got a bum rap,” Powers said.
Powers and his wife, Jane Griffith, are Adlerians, clinical psychologists who are passionate about the teachings of Alfred Adler, and who teach courses in their home.
They are internationally known, having taught at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, written a lexicon explaining Adlerian terminology and demonstrated Adlerian therapy methods at international conferences.
They also taught four continuing-education classes on Adlerian psychology in Seattle until last year, when they decided to cut travel time by offering the courses in Port Townsend — in their living room.
“One of things we discovered was that people who live on the [North Olympic] Peninsula were very pleased to find us,” Powers said. “There is no training opportunity on the Peninsula of this scope and character.”
The classes drew therapists, psychologists, social workers and school counselors from Seattle, Gig Harbor, Poulsbo and Port Angeles as well as Port Townsend, Powers said.
Held in the couple’s water-view home on Morgan Hill, each class takes place over two days, a Friday and Saturday, and offers 13.5 hours of continuing education or clock hours approved by the American Psychology Association.
The cost of each workshop ranges from $185 to $205 depending on membership in the Puget Sound Adlerian Society and the date the tuition is sent.
The course format includes demonstrations of therapy methods and exercises.
Students break up into small groups for discussion, or might do some drawings to recall childhood memories, Griffith said.
During breaks, the couple provides snacks and beverages, which, weather permitting, are served on the deck, which offers a panoramic view of Admiralty Inlet.
“Adlerians like to be in a more comfortable format,” Griffith said. “It’s not unusual for people to teach a small group in their home.”
The first two-day course, on Feb. 5-6, is an introduction to Adlerian psychology, a holistic, family-systems approach to psychotherapy.
The second class, on April 9-10, is on personality development, and how a person’s birth order and lifestyle determine the way he or she forms a view of reality.
The third course that Powers and Griffith teach, on June 11 and 12, is on individual psychotherapy.
The fourth, on Aug. 13 and 14, is on couple, family and child therapy, a big part of Adler’s contribution to psychology and counseling, Griffith said.
Participants, who can take one or more courses, provide their own meals and overnight lodging.
Completion of all four courses earns 54 hours and a certificate of professional studies in Adlerian psychology.
Powers studied with Rudolf Dreikurs, who studied with Adler.
Powers, who knew members of Adler’s family, was asked to preach at the funeral of Adler’s son, Court, in New York City.
“He’s a link to Adler,” Griffith said of her spouse. “It’s a chain of inheritance.”
Adler, who was born in Austria in 1870, overcame childhood illness to excel in school, leading to his theories of self-actualization. He died in 1937.
For more information about the courses, see the Puget Sound Adlerian Society Web site, www.psasadler.org.
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Port Townsend/Jefferson County reporter-columnist Jennifer Jackson can be reached at jjackson@olypen.com.
