Adlerian Psychotherapy – The Case of Roger

Adlerian Psychotherapy – The Case of Roger
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May 26, 2022
Understanding the relationship between an individual's various circumstances and realities is essential for a psychological professional. It allows him to use various theories and principles to determine the best kind of treatment while considering the patient's well-being. In this article, the author would like to analyze Roger's case based on a study and therapy session done at the Alfred Adler Institute of Chicago. The author believes that a closer look into this case study would provide the readers with a better insight into how to apply Adlerian therapy in real-life practice.
Case Summary
The case presented in this study was about Roger, a 36-year-old homosexual male who was admitted to the Alfred Adler institute to undergo treatment for ten weeks. Roger was suffering from various psychological and social problems, which he wanted to address through the help of psychological counseling.
On the one hand, Roger complained that he has agoraphobia, which is a type of fear where an individual fears places or circumstances that would cause him to panic or feel anxious in the first place CITATION May17 \l 1033 (MayoClinic.com, 2017). The patient said that aside from this fear, he also suffered other lifestyle problems like heavy drinking, being overweight, and dissatisfaction with his life. This affected a significant aspect of his life, including his work, friendships, and love relationships. Roger tried to impose a "passive control" over his surroundings and circumstances to cope with his problem. He tried to avoid mingling with some people, going on spontaneous and unplanned activities, and focusing on what he could control for the past twelve (12) years. Additionally, he believes that both his underlying and resulting symptoms (i.e., excessive drinking and self-doubt) have compounded this problem, which could lead him to a never-ending cycle.
On the other hand, Roger also noted that he is an active homosexual, although he had sexual encounters with both sexes. Although the patient said that this is not a problem, he believes that this social and psychological problem makes his sexual orientation problematic. Specifically, he said that his agoraphobia seems to make it very difficult to overcome both his fears and improve his own life.
Additionally, Roger's therapy sessions reveal that his sexual orientation is heavily affected by his fear. For example, some of the reasons why he prefers being a homosexual to a heterosexual are (1) since it is much easier to control his situat...