One of the basic tenets of Alfred Adler’s theory is that most social realities are fictions – and they are either socially useful fictions, or else socially useless (harmful) ones. This “psychology of ‘as-if,’” which Adler adopted from the philosopher Hans Vaihinger, is similar to the post-modern or social constructivist way of thinking, and says… Continue Reading No, We’re Not “Divided” – Some of Us Are Simply Lost from Social Reality

On the fourth of my trips to Adler’s Vancouver campus last fall, I came before the Canadian border officer, as I had each time before. I was ready for the questions about why I was coming to Canada, and gave the same explanation as previously – that I had been asked to teach a class… Continue Reading Let’s Try Saying “Americans” Instead of “America” – A Lesson from Canadians

I traveled to the Illinois State Capitol this week with a busload of faculty, staff, and students from Adler School of Professional Psychology, for a rally and march in support of SB 10, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, which passed the Illinois Senate earlier this year but did not pass in the Illinois… Continue Reading October 22, 2013 Rally for Illinois Marriage Equality

In the latest example of what are becoming all-too-frequent acts of unspeakable horror, homemade bombs killed three people and seriously wounded dozens more at the beloved Boston Marathon this week. The act itself seems to fit the definition of terrorism perfectly: an indiscriminate strike at ordinary, innocent people in a moment of national celebration, forever… Continue Reading A Tough Uncle: On “Being Losers”

I’m ready to rant. I suppose that my participation in the 60th Anniversary celebrations and commencement at the Adler School of Professional Psychology has crystallized my feelings about the current state of our nation and world. This will definitely be a TL;DR (“too long, didn’t read”) entry if you’re the type of person put off… Continue Reading The Stupidity of Selfishness

Toward the end of Alfred Adler’s life, he published a book titled Social Interest – A Challenge for Mankind. About thirty years later, his colleague Rudolf Dreikurs published Social Equality: The Challenge of Today. It seems that mankind needs to be reminded of the importance of these two closely related concepts.

On February 24th and 25th, the Child Guidance Center of Adler School of Professional Psychology will be hosting a Positive Discipline program, Teaching Parenting the Positive Discipline Way, at the Adler School of Professional Psychology. 

Economic decisions can trump ethical ones Today’s New York Times has a guest column by two management experts who have studied ethical decision-making in business. Their findings suggest that the line of reasoning that fines and penalties should deter unethical behavior is not borne out by research. Instead, these measures seemed to encourage irresponsibility because they… Continue Reading Psychology and Ethical Behavior

I was asked to be a part of an Adler School of Professional Psychology Student Government event that took place yesterday and today at the school. Six faculty members were asked to talk about a case (taken from the DSM-IV Casebook) using six different theoretical viewpoints. The theories presented were cognitive-behavioral therapy, trauma-focused therapy, Adlerian… Continue Reading Successful faculty panel presentation at Adler School

Counseling and psychotherapy are often used interchangeably, which can be confusing to people seeking help. Most of us who work in the field tend to use the two terms a little differently. Counseling is usually used to refer to getting help for less severe problems or for situational issues. Psychotherapy is usually used to describe… Continue Reading Is it Counseling or Psychotherapy?