Adlerian Therapy for Chronic Depression in Middle-Aged Men: Core Focus Areas
Adlerian therapy (Individual Psychology) addresses depression through social embeddedness and goal reorientation.
Five Therapeutic Pillars
- Inferiority & Compensation: Explore "minus" feelings (career, relationships, aging). Identify fictional finalism (unconscious goal). Shift from superiority striving to social usefulness.
- Self-Acceptance & Encouragement: "Courage to be imperfect." Separate worth from performance. Build self-efficacy via micro-goals.
- Social Interest (Gemeinschaftsgefühl): Depression = isolation. Foster contribution: volunteering, mentorship, community. "We" over "I."
- Lifestyle Assessment: Early recollections, family constellation, birth order → reveal private logic. Re-author narrative.
- Task Setting (Life Tasks): Work, Love, Community. Concrete, measurable steps. "Act as if" behavioral experiments.
Middle-Age Specifics
- Generativity vs. stagnation (Erikson).
- Andropause/hormonal changes.
- Career plateau, caregiving sandwich.
Therapist models democratic, collaborative stance. Focus on present/future, not just past.
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