A Review of the Relationship Between Individual Psychology and Spirituality

Author/s: Büşra Ünverdi

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.37898/spc.2022.7.2.178 

Year: 2022 Vol: 7 Number: 2

Abstract

Individual psychology is a theory developed by Alfred Adler that significantly contributed to the psychology literature both in theory and practice. Spirituality, on the other hand, is an area that cannot be ignored in human life. This article reviews the perspective of individual psychology on spirituality, its relationship with spirituality, how it makes spiritual assessments, and how it can be used with clients with a spiritual/ religious orientation. The review considers both Adler’s own texts and articles by later researchers who adopted his theoretical orientation. Individual psychology evaluates each individual by considering their own phenomenological field. It therefore does not ignore clients’ spiritual/religious dimensions in the counseling process and accepts that spirituality has an important place in the life of individuals. Given that spirituality has a structure that supports well-being, hope, and insight while providing an important coping mechanism, Adler’s inclusion of spirituality in his theory is clearly important. The case examples included in the article also support this and reveal in general terms how individual psychology handles and assesses spirituality during counseling.

Keywords
Individual Psychology • spirituality • review study

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