Running head: A STUDY IN COUNSELING THEORIES
A Study in Counseling Theories
Psychoanalytic, Analytical, Adlerian, Existential, Person-Centered and Gestalt
Julie H. New
Salem College
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A STUDY IN COUNSELING THEORIES
A Study in Counseling Theories
Over the past five weeks of study, we have reviewed nine different counseling
theories and of these, six in particular stood out to me. From Freud’s psychoanalytic
theories that are designed around the premise that personality is developed within five
stages and is also a product of a life and death instinct (Johnson, A., 2011, pg. 61-63), to
Jung who “looks at the total person-mind, body and soul” (Finn, A., 2011, pg. 77) the
similarities and differences in each theorists work led to personal knowledge growth and
begs that I continue to pursue additional information on the subject. We begin by
discussing the Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, Jung’s Analytic Theories, and Adler’s
individual theories.
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Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
“Psychoanalytic theory was an enormously influential force during the first half of the
20th century and was based on the pioneering work of Sigmund Freud” (Johnson, A.,
2011, pg. 59). Freud was born in Vienna and was the oldest son of a large family. His
family, though poor, worked hard to make sure that he became an educated man. He
graduated from the University of Vienna at age twenty-six with a degree in medicine
(Johnson, 2011). Freud deserted his exclusive family medical career in 1885 to purse his
new passion in “medical pathology, primarily exploring the potential of hypnosis, free
association, and dream analysis as cures for a constellation of unusual symptoms he
observed in patients” (Laible, 1993). It was his work with a patient named Bertha
Pappenhiem where he first observed how talking about her life seemed to relieve her
symptoms of hysteria and anxiety, and this observation began his journey into
psychoanalytic theory (Johnson, 2011). Freud also did work on his own through a selfanalysis in his early 40s where he studied his own dreams (Johnson, 2011). It was during
these studies that he determined that a personality is formed through childhood
experiences and he believed there were six psychosexual stages of development
(Johnson, 2011).
Jungian Analytical Theory
Carl Jung (1875-1961)
Analytical Psychology was founded by Carl Jung who had been a student of Sigmund
Freud (Finn, 2011). Jung was born in Switzerland to a minister and his wife and was
“immersed in the rituals of the faith, and from his mother he was exposed to mysticism
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and spiritualism” (Finn, A., 2011, pg. 78). His mother suffered from various depressive
issues and Jung went back and forth between his family and that of his aunt (Finn, 2011).
After focusing heavily on his school work to avoid social interaction, Jung graduated in
medicine from the University of Basel (Finn, 2011). His training was under Eugen
Bleuler and was in the field of study that is now defined as schizophrenia (Casement,
2011). It was during this time that he developed one of the intervention strategies that he
is the most famous for, word association (Finn, 2011). “This procedure is intended to
bring the unconscious to the conscious” (Finn, A., 2011, pg. 78) and this became the
focus of Jung’s work through-out his life. He believed “it was the role of the therapist to
help the patient to reintegrate the various parts of his or her personality” (Finn, A., 2011,
pg. 78) thus making the person whole again.
Adlerian Theory
Alfred Adler (1870-1937)
Alfred Adler was the theorist credited with starting “individual psychology, a social
theory widely applied by counselors and educators” (Dufrene, R., 2011, pg. 95). Adler
was born in Vienna to a Jewish family and he graduated from the University of Vienna in
1895 with a degree in medicine which he used to practice ophthalmology and then
general medicine (Dufrene, 2011). “In 1898, at 28 years old, he wrote one of his first
works on the medical conditions of tailors, in which he described the health and lifestyle
of tailors within their unique environment, describing what was to be become one of the
main ideas in Adler’s theories: a view of the individual as part of an integrated whole
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within the environment” (Dufrene, 2011, pg. 96). Adler spent many years teaching and
lecturing and his theories continued to thrive even after his death. “Alderians became
innovators of many interventions used to prevent future problems with clients rather than
limit treatment until after problems occur” (Dufrene, 2011, pg. 97).
Goals and Major Constructs
Psychoanalytic, Jungian, and Adlerian Theories
All three theorist being discussed had interactions with each other over the years. Jung
was a follower of Freud, “but parted ways with him in 1913 over Freud’s emphasis on
biological drives and sexual urges as the prime human motivating factors (Jung,
1911/1956). “Adler published several works that featured a form of social theory that ran
counter to Freud’s deterministic theory” (Dufrene, 2011, pg. 96). It was believed that all
three men were in “the secret committee” that was in existence for more than 20 years.
The following table gives some of the basics of Freud’s, Jung’s and Adler’s theories as
shown previously in paper by Julie New (2013).
Table 1.
Comparison of Psychoanalytic, Analytic and Adlerian Theories
Constructs
Freud
Psychoanalytic
Jung
Analytic
Personality is
developed within
five stages and is also
a product of a life
and death instinct
(Johnson, A., 2011,
pg. 61-63)
"looks at the
total personmind, body and
soul" (Finn, A.,
2011, pg. 77)
Adler
Individual
Characteristics of a
healthy person
would be the desire
to fit in, to be in a
good social family
or society unit and
is holistic in
nature.(Dufrene,
R., 2011, pg. 95)
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Freud Continued
Jung Continued
Goals
"self-awareness and
understanding of the
influence of the past
on present behavior,
the correction of the
clients distortion"
(Johnson, A., 2011,
pg. 59)
"individuation
and integration
of the personal
conscious with
the personal
unconscious"
(Finn, A., 2011,
pg. 82)
Intervention
Strategies
Analyzing
Transference and
resistances, Free
Association, Dream
Analysis
Word
Association, Ink
Blot tests, Play
therapy, Dream
Analysis
Adler Continued
"help client
identify and
understand
mistaken beliefs
and assumptions
about self, others
and like, make
changes in those
beliefs" (Dufrene,
R., 2011, pg. 107)
Lifestyle Analysis,
Family
constellation,
Atmosphere,
Values, Early
Development
Issues
One of Freud’s most well-known constructs is that of the Id, Ego and Superego
(Johnson, 2011). The id is present from birth and is the only part of the personality that
has instinctive basic drives and is a totally unconscious function (Johnson, 2011). “The
superego, which strives to act in a moral, socially appropriate manner, directly
contradicts the id, which demands instant self-gratification” (Johnson, 2011, pg. 61). The
superego works in the middle of the two to try and maintain balance and function. Freud
also did a lot of work with his theory “that personality develops through a series of
childhood stages during which the pleasure-seeking energies of the id become focused on
certain erogenous areas” (Johnson, 2011, pg. 61). He worked with client’s fears of dying
as a way to get them to focus on life and spent time on defense mechanisms of the ego.
He determined that defense mechanisms were used to protect an individual from their
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various fears such as death. He believed that you had to face these fears and figure out
where in your stages of development that the unconscious and conscious stopped moving
forward.
Jung was different from other scholars of his time in that he believed “there were four
basic stages of development: childhood, adolescence, middle age, and old age” (Finn,
2011, pg. 78). He believed that children came equipped with basic instincts and drives
and that outside events from the family and other surroundings could cause issues in the
child’s development so Jung would take the approach of working with the whole family,
not just the individual (Finn, 2011). During the next stage which is childhood to young
adulthood (Finn, 2011), Jung believed that “adolescence is a period when individuals are
discovering their personality characteristics and persona and reconciling it with parental
and societal expectations” (Finn, 2011, pg. 79). Jung believed that middle age was a very
important time in the development of a person and he personally worked through his own
issues during this time in his life (Finn, 2011). Old age was the final stage of study for
Jung and he believed that it should be spent in a reflective state about one’s life and that
you continued to grow and develop spiritually throughout your entire life (Finn, 2011).
Since Jung believed that the conscious and the unconscious needed to work together
for the person to be whole, he spent considerable time developing his constructs in this
area. One of his most distinguished theories was his concept of the collective
unconscious. This theory stated that we are all born with specific instincts, it is “an
inherited tendency of the human mind to form representations of mythological motifs”
(Jung, 1959/1970, p.228). He also did work with what he called Archetypes which is
“seen as a force that can over-come a person, like experiencing a seizure” (Finn, 2011,
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pg. 81). There are four phases in Jungian analytical psychology which include “the first
phase, catharsis, is the stage in which the client shares feelings and expresses emotions”
(Finn, 2011, pg. 83). In the analytical stage, “the therapist analyzes dreams, transference
and counter transference , and other assessments such as word association tests,
projective tests, or type indicators” (Finn, 2011, pg. 83). Next is the insight phase where
information about the client come from past and present experiences (Finn, 2011). The
transformational or individuation stage uses information gained from the insight stage to
bring the separated pieces of their personality back together. Jung believed that dream
analysis was the primary way to reach a person’s unconscious level.
Adler worked to establish individualism within his clients and his theory was based on
three basic principles (Dufrene, 2011). He believed that human behavior is goal oriented,
involves social interest, and occurs within the whole individual (Dufrene, 2011). Like
Freud and Jung, he too believed there was a developmental process within all humans
that controlled how they learned and grew individually and in society. He is well known
for his work with three concepts that he believed controlled how a person developed
within their environment: “birth order, family constellation, and early recollections. Birth
order, which is part of the family constellation, describes in detail how a child is treated
differently based on their birth order in the family. He theorized that only children or
those born first, got the majority of their parent’s attention until another child is born. The
oldest would then have to compete for the parental attention that he had previously which
could cause him to act out if he does not get what he needs. The second child, if the
youngest, is the baby and is usually given the most attention overall. If a third child
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arrives making the second child the middle child, they now must learn how to live
between the oldest and the youngest and often just feel stuck in the middle.
Adler didn’t like to work with statistics, preferring to work instead with case studies
(Dufrene, 2011). He worked to help the client become a “whole” person and felt that
they could rebuild themselves from within. He believed that people were individuals that
could make choices, but also had to take responsibility for those choices (Dufrene, 2011)
and that that client had social responsibilities as well. Alder went on to develop his
human personality theory in which he believed that “a person attributes meaning to life
experiences which makes his approach teleological” (Dufrene, 2011, pg. 103).
While all three theorist, Freud, Jung, and Adler were on the leading edge in their
times, each of their theories had limitations. Freud was criticized for the “idea that
humans are driven by sexuality without consideration of other cultural dynamics”
(Johnson, 2011, pg. 72). It also has issues in today’s more extensively multi-cultural
environment and doesn’t seem to directly problem solve (Johnson, 2011). Jung’s work
has limitations due to the complicated intervention techniques that require advanced
training and can cause the client to be very abstract in their thinking (Johnson, 2011).
While Adler’s theory is the easiest to understand, it is also criticized for the fact that it
does not appear to have much depth (Dufrene, 2011) and for not having a verifiable
empirical background.
Existential Theory
When we take a look at existential theory, multiple theorist had a major hand in
developing the principles. “With roots in the philosophy of Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich
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Nietzsche, and Jean-Paul Sartre, existentialism gained an audience within the post-World
War II European community where it found form and voice” (Frank, 2011, pg. 120).
Existential theory developed out of the death and negativity that came from the war and
all the destruction it brought with them. Through facing death, optimism took a back seat
to reality.
Person-Centered Theory
Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
Carl Rogers developed the person-centered theory, and it is still “one of the most
popular in the fields of psychology, counseling, and education” (Hazler, 2011, pg. 143).
He too came from a religious background, though he went to school originally to study
agriculture (Hazler, 2011). Eventually he changed his studies to religion and then
psychology, and while his religious views remained strong throughout this period they
became more liberal and different from those of his parents which eventually caused a
rift. He spent the first part of his career working with children and it led to his first major
work in 1942 which called for a more scientific approach to counseling (Hazler, 2011).
Gestalt Theory
Frederick (Fritz) Perls (1893-1970)
Frederick Perls was credited with beginning the Gestalt Theory. He was born in Berlin
to middle class Jewish parents (Haley, 2011). He earned a medical degree after being in
World War 1 as a medical corpsman which left him with “a deep cynicism about human
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nature” (Haley, 2011, pg. 167). He married Laura Perls who contributed a great deal to
the Gestalt Theory and carried on her husband’s work after his death. The Gestalt theory
got its’ name from the word gestalt “which is a German term used to define a unique
patterning in which the parts are integrated in the perceptual whole” (Engelmann, 2008).
All three theories seem to promote an optimism though it may be about different
things and approached in different ways. Existential is optimistic about human nature
and its ability to take responsibility for ones choices (Frank, M., 2011. pg.135), where
person-centered is more optimistic about the fact that humans are always striving to be
better people. Gestalt theory looks to bring the whole person together creating a more
functional individual. The following table breaks down some of the highlights of each
theory as shown previously in paper by Julie New (2013).
Table 2.
Comparison of Existential, Person-Centered and Gestalt Theories
Existential Theory
Person-Centered
"Realistically optimistic
about human nature. People
can choose to have
responsibility for their
choices" (Frank, M., 2011,
pg.135)
“Emphasizes a highly
positive view of human
nature in which people can
be trusted to be continually
seeking productive
directions toward maximum
self-actualization." (Hazler,
R., 2011, pg. 161)
Gestalt Theory
"Strives to encompass
the whole organism
and operate from the
perspective that human
beings have the
capacity and strength
to grow, to develop,
and to become the
persons they want to
be." (Haley, M., 2011,
pg. 183-184)
Addresses isolation, fear of
death, loneliness, anxiety,
taking responsibility for ones
choices. (Frank, M. 2011,
pg. 135)
Clients try to find positive
traits within themselves and
work to have a less distorted
existence (Hazler, R., 2011,
pg. 161)
Works to unify the
areas of focus such as
body and mind, now
and before (Haley, M.,
2011, pg. 184)
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Existential Continued
Client must be willing to
change and confront these
issues
Can seem unfocused
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Person-Centered
Continued
Gestalt Continued
Client begins to change
through interacting with the
counselor through "core
conditions of genuineness,
acceptance and caring, and
empathic understanding"
(Hazler, R., 2011, pg. 161)
Lack of trust can lead to
roadblocks within the
counseling process. If client
or counselor doesn’t feel
safe, interventions are less
successful
Change happens when
the client begins to
work through all the
layers of "stuff" that
keep them from seeing
their true self
said to place "too much
emphasis on the here
and now" (Haley, M.,
2011, pg.184); takes a
longer period of time
than society allows
Goals and Major Constructs
Existential, Person-Center & Gestalt Theories
One of the major constructs in Existential Theory is that “death is the ultimate truth, both
in myth and in reality; it is ever present” (Frank, 2011, pg. 124). Existential theorist
believe that anxiety towards death can keep a person from connecting socially and that in
order to be truly free, a client must face their fear and anxiety of death (Frank, 2011).
“Existential counseling, because it is informed by philosophy, is seen as providing the
why rather than the how of the psychotherapeutic process” (Kruger, 2002). Existentialist
work to bring clients out of isolation and into a meaningful life (Frank, 2011). In order to
help clients work through these issues, counselors use interventions such as having them
tell stories and experiences from their lives (Frank, 2011). They are taught to take
responsibility for the change and growth in their lives and they work deeper in analyzing
their dreams. Dreams “provide a reflection of people’s inner feelings, hopes and fears,
and dreamers are compelled to discover their meaning” (Frank, 2011, pg. 129).
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“The person-centered approach to counseling implies great confidence in each client”
(Hazler, 2011, pg. 146). Counselors using this theory believe that there has to be trust
between the counselor and the client in order for the helping relationship to work and it
assumes that the client must be deemed as trustworthy for the relationship to begin
(Hazler, 2011). Person-centered counselors view clients as people who are always
striving to be better and make the most of themselves, and the counselors take a very
optimistic view of this process. These counselors believe that all individuals can achieve
actualization through positive development and hard work (Hazler, 2011). Interventions
that counselors work with using this theory include active listening, reflection of content,
working on problems that are at the surface now immediately, appropriate levels of selfdisclosure and actions that are personalized by the counselor (Hazler, 2011). “The
counselor’s relationship with the client promotes the client’s capacity to find and use
chance experiences as well as to discover and use his or her inner resources” (Glauser &
Bozarth, Person-Centered Counseling: The Culture Within, 2001).
Gestalt theory as used by the Perls, both Fritz and Laura, as well as work by Paul
Goodman, tended to use some of the existential practices in that they looked at the client
as a whole person, not at someone having many pieces (Haley, 2011). “There are a
number of major constructs connected with Gestalt counseling and psychotherapy:
holism, the concept of unifying wholes, which includes mind and body, past and present,
and individual and environment; field theory, the idea that the individual in his or her
environment produces a psychological field in which self-regulation can take place;
figure-ground, the idea that the client’s unfinished business becomes “figure” or
foreground during the therapeutic process and everything else temporarily recedes to
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“ground” or background; here and now orientation, emphasis on the present rather than
on the past or the future for the purpose of promoting the growth process: and boundaries
and polarities, the client’s “definition” in relation to the environment and traits existing
on the opposite ends of the same continuum” (Yontef & Fuhr, 2005).
The limitations of these three theories, Existential, Person-Centered and Gestalt are
many. Existentialism has been criticized for being so complicated and requires
individuals to face things that may truly scare them, and it done in a manner that faces the
issue head on (Frank, 2011). Existential theory tends to not offer very much scientific
back up for its work leaving clients and the scientific communities at odds with its
validity. This type of theory can be scary as a client is forced to face frightening things in
their existence so they must really be ready for change and willing to do the work (Frank,
2011). Person-centered theory is sometimes limited by the fact that it appears so easy to
learn (Hazler, 2011). “The difficult task requires excellent understanding and continuing
awareness of oneself and the client” (Hazler, 2011, pg. 160-161). The counselors using
this theory could be presumed to be too laid back and not hard enough on the client
(Hazler, 2011). Gestalt theory has been put down because it is “said to de-emphasize the
cognitive components of the counseling and psychotherapy process” (Haley, 2011, pg.
184). Gestalt theory can be seen as taking too long in today’s fast paced environment
(Haley, 2011) to achieve results and it places too much emphasis on the here and now.
Through my studies of these six theories, the thing that sticks out most is how some of
them do not seem to think the helping relationship is as important as others do. These
theories are different in their approaches of what causes problems in a client’s life,
whether the issues come from the past or from the here and now, or are all issues caused
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by specific developmental stage break downs. I personally tend to relate more to the
person-centered and Adlerian theories but do see value in pieces of all the rest. “What a
counselor says or does in a session must be based on the counselor’s experience of the
client in the relationship and the client’s perception of the experience” (Glauser, A. and
Bozarth, J., 2001, pg. 144), it is the helping relationship that is a counselor’s greatest tool.
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References
Dufrene, R. (2011). Adlerian Theory. In D. Capuzzi, & D. Gross, Counseling and
Psychotherapy Theories and Interventions (pp. 95-118). Alexandria, VA:
American Counseling Association.
Finn, A. (2011). Jungian Analytical Theory. In D. Capuzzi, & D. Gross, Counseling and
Psychotheraphy Theories and Interventions (pp. 77-94). Alexandria, VA:
American Counseling Association.
Frank, M. L. (2011). Existential Theory. In D. Capuzzi, & D. Gross, Counseling and
Psychotherapy Theories and Interventions (pp. 119-142). Alexandria, VA:
American Counseling Association.
Glauser, A., & Bozarth, J. (2001). Person-Centered Counseling: The Culture Within.
Journal of Counseling & Development (79), 142-147.
Haley, M. (2011). Gestalt Theory. In D. Capuzzi, & D. Gross, Counseling and
Psychotherapy Theories and Interventions (pp. 167-191). Alexandria, VA:
American Counseling Association.
Hazler, R. J. (2011). Person-Centered Theory. In D. Capuzzi, & D. Gross, Counseling
and Psychotherapy Theories and Interventions (pp. 143-166). Alexandria, VA:
American Counseling Association.
Johnson, A. (2011). Psychoanalytic Theory. In D. Capuzzi, & D. Gross, Counseling and
Psychotherapy Theories and Interventions (pp. 59-76). Alexandria, VA:
American Counseling Association.
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References
Jung, C. (1959). Archetypes of the collective uncounscious. . In Collected works: The
archetypes and the collective unconscious (Vol. 9, Part), 1-88.
Kruger, A. (2002). Counseling and Philosophy: A Personal Existential View. American
Journal of Pastoral Counseling 6 (1), 51-61.
Laible, E. (1993). Through privation to knowledge: Unknown Documents from Freud's
university years. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 28, 7-11.
New, Julie (2013). Discussion forum Week 2 Table.
New, Julie (2013). Discussion forum Week 3 Table.
Yontef, G. &. (2007). Gestalt therapy. In R. J. Corsini, & D. Wedding, Current
Psychotherapies (8th ed.) (pp. 328-367). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
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