Adlerian psychotherapy

n. The psychotherapy techniques developed by Alfred Alder (1870-1937), in which a person is urged to examine his or her goals and the methods he/she uses to achieve them and to use his/her own courage and creative potential to alter them in ways that lead to more satisfaction in life and a greater contribution to society. Pathology arises only when a person chooses a style of life that prevents her/him from having a sense of closeness and ability to cooperate with others or when he/she becomes discouraged and fails to keep trying to solve her/his problems (inferiority complex). Adler pioneered couples and family therapy as well as therapy for working-class persons.