Adlerian Counseling
... would not continue that behavior. This idea was given in the chapter dealing with Adler. However, this statement makes me think of a behavioral approach. There is some reinforcement to a behavior. Now that I am looking at more theories, I can see overlaps in many of them. Another thought given in the chapter was that the parents should be the natural leaders of the family. This is an important concept to understand. When the parents are not the leaders, the family system may become dysfunctional. The children should not have to take the place of the parents. Adler believes that the family atmosphere is unique to each family. We must remember this when working with an individual or a family. We can not use a cookbook recipe for every family. No two families are the same and we must be able to adjust to that. The idea that parents are the models of gender is also a great idea given by Adler. When I think back to many thoughts or behaviors I exhibit dealing with gender roles, I think back to my family. I always thought media has a huge role, but when I think about it I follow what I learned from my family. In some instances I find myself doing the exact opposite, but this is still effected from what I experienced in my family. For example, at family functions the women always cook the meal and after the meal the women clear the table and do the dishes. During this time the men sit and the table and talk. In my household I will not be following what I learned. I believe whomever cooks does not have to clean up. If the women cook, the men can clean up. These gender roles go along with family values. These are all things that we learn from our family experiences growing up. The impact our family has on us is huge and if we do not take this into account then we are ignoring a huge part of ourselves. When I think of benefits of Adlerian counseling, I immediately think of his ideas on birth order. Many may not think this pertains to them but it effects everyone. We may not be able to place ourselves in a clear-cut box, but the effects still remain. This goes into how every family is unique as I discussed before. There are many different types of families and our birth order may be forever changing due to blending or gaining more siblings. Knowing and understanding these ideas have many i...