ALFRED ADLER'S CONTRIBUTION TO HUMAN TRINITY HYPNOTHERAPY

By CHAPLAIN PAUL G. DURBIN Ph.D 

In 1972 and 1973, I went through four quarters of Clinical Pastoral Education (C.P.E.) at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. When I went there, I was a very outgoing person but inside, I felt inferior. When someone gave me a compliment, I would smile and say "Thank you," but inside I would discount the compliment. During the second quarter of C.P.E., our supervisor Chaplain Ray Stephens assigned each student two pioneer psychologists, to present a class on each. I was assigned to report on Alfred Adler and Viktor Frankl. As I prepared those two classes, I began to notice a change in how I felt about myself. 
I recognized that I could overcome my inferiority feelings (Adler) and that I could have meaning and purpose in my life (Frankl). As a result of those two classes, I went from low man on the totem pole to a class leader. The transformation I experienced (physically, emotionally and spiritually) could be compared to a conversion experience. 
Adler and Frankl (Article on Frankl will follow) have contributed to my understanding of human personality and how I relate to an individual in the therapeutic situation. Thyra Boldes once wrote of Adler that he was real, whether he was joking or serious, whether in private discussion or lectures, his real personality always seemed to say, "life is holy, have reverence for life, every thing which happens is important."
In his youth, Adler was a sickly child which caused him embarrassment and pain. These early experiences with illnesses and accidents probably account for his theory of organ inferiority and were the foundation for his theories on inferiority feelings. According to Adler, each individual has a weak area in their body (organ inferiority) which tends to be the area where illness occurs - such as the stomach, head, heart, back, lungs, etc. Adler said that to some degree every emotion finds expression in the body. From his understanding of organ inferiority, Adler began to see each individual as having a feeling of inferiority. Adler wrote, "To be a human being means to feel oneself inferior." 
The child comes into the world as a helpless little creature surrounded by powerful adults. A child is motivated by feelings of inferiority to strive for greater things. Those feelings of inferiority activate a person to strive upward. Normal feelings of inferiority impel the human being to solve his problems successfully, whereas the inferiority complex impedes or prevents him from doing so. 
The healthy individual will strive to overcome his/her inferiority through involvement with society. They are concerned about the welfare of others as well as themselves. They develop good feelings of self-worth and self-assurance.
On the other hand, some are more concerned with selfishness than with social interest. They may express this selfishness in a need to dominate, to refuse to cooperate, wanting to take and not to give. From these unhealthy responses, the person develops an inferiority complex or a superiority complex. 
A superiority complex is a cover up for an inferiority complex. They are different sides of the same coin. The person with the superiority complex has hidden doubts about their abilities. 
Adler developed a theory of personality based upon: 

• (1) inferiority feelings and inferiority complex
• (2) striving for superiority
• (3) style of life
• (4) social interest
• (5) family constellation
• (6) fictional finalism
• (7) the creative self
• (8) masculine protest
• (9) the interpretation of dreams
• (10) the theory of psychotherapy. 

Adler had very little to say about hypnosis, but what little he did say indicates that he did not understand the clinical possibilities of hypnosis. He recognized that no one can be hypnotized against his will. He did believe that the individual who allowed himself to be hypnotized placed himself under the power of the hypnotist. In spite of his misunderstanding of hypnosis, he offers a lot to the hypnotherapist with his Fictional Finalism, Mirror Technique, Family Constellation, and his understanding of Inferiority Feelings and Inferiority Complex. 

ALFRED ADLER'S INFERIORITY, COMPENSATIONS AND SUPERIORITY:

Over the past years, I have conducted several seminars and written articles on Alfred Adler that have been received warmly. As a result, I am witting a series of articles on Adler's theories that have had an influence on my understanding of human nature and use of hypnotherapy.
Adler did not have a proper understanding of hypnosis. He understood that one could not be hypnotized against his will, but once hypnotized, the individual was under the control of the hypnotist. We are now aware that one is not under the control of the hypnotist for one will not do anything against his will under hypnosis. When you hear terms like inferiority feelings, inferiority complex, superiority complex, compensation, style of life, goal-directed, family constellation, fictional finalism, the relationship between body, mind, and spirit, and psychiatry as the science of interpersonal relations, to mention only a few, you are encountering ideas developed by Alfred Adler. These ideas and theories were developed from 1907 when his first book was written until his death in 1937. 
Adler felt that there is a unity of body and soul so that the psychic attitude affects the physical and the physical affects the psychic. Adler believed that to a certain degree every emotion finds some body expression. The individual will show his emotion in some visible form: perhaps in his posture and attitude, perhaps in his face, perhaps the trembling of his legs and knees. Similar changes could be found in the organs themselves. The circulation of blood is affected as shown when a person blushes or turns pale. In anger, anxiety, sorrow, or any other emotion, the body always speaks and each individual's body speaks a language of its own. When a person is afraid, he trembles, the hair of another will stand on end, and a third person will have palpitations of the heart. Still others will sweat or choke or tremble or speak in a hoarse voice. Some people react to stress with lose of appetite, while others overeat. One people feel the effect of stress in the head, another in the stomach, another in the bladder, another in the back, or another in some other part of the body. If examined closely, we shall find that every part of the body is involved in an emotional expression and that those physical expressions are the consequences of the action of the mind and the body. 
The understanding of the relationship between the mind, body and spirit is one of Adler's contribution to Human Trinity Hypnotherapy. 
A ground breaking area in the theory of human nature for Adler was his understanding of INFERIORITY FEELINGS, COMPENSATION AND STRIVING FOR SUPERIORITY.
Inferiority feelings and compensation originated with Adler's early studies of organ inferiority and compensation. In his book, Study of Organ Inferiority and Its Physical Compensation (1907), Adler described the process of compensation for physical disabilities or limitations. Depending on the attitude one takes toward his defects, his compensation for disabilities or limitations will be satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Favourite examples for Adler were Demosthenes, who became a great speaker in compensation for an early defect in speech; Annette Kellerman, who became a champion swimmer not so much despite, as because of bodily weakness; the limping Nurmi, who become a famous runner. Others with similar problems did not compensate by excelling but used their defect as an excuse to preserve their fantasy that they would have gained prestige had they not had the defect. From his understanding of organ inferiority, Adler began to see each individual as having a feeling of inferiority. Adler wrote, "to be a human being means to feel oneself inferior. The child comes into the world as a helpless little creature surrounded by powerful adults. A child is motivated by his feelings of inferiority to strive for greater things. When he has reached one level of development, he began to feel inferior once more and the striving for something better begins again which is the great diving force of mankind."
Every person has inferiority feelings whether they can admit it or not. Adler says that since the feeling of inferiority is regarded as a sign of weakness and as something shameful, there is naturally a strong tendency to conceal it. Indeed, the effort of concealment may be so great that the person himself ceases to be aware of his inferiority as such, being wholly preoccupied with the consequences of the feeling and with all the objective details that subserve its concealment. 
So effectively may an individual train his whole mentality for this task that the entire current of his psychic life flows ceaselessly from below to above, that is, from feelings of inferiority to that of superiority. This occuring automatically and escaping his own notice. It is not surprising that we often receive a negative reply when we ask a person whether he has a feeling of inferiority. It is better not to the press the point, but to observe his psychological movements, in which the attitude and individual goal can always be discerned. 
Both the healthy individual and the neurotic individual cope with their feelings of inferiority by compensatory action through gaining power to overcome the sense of weakness. These aggressive reactions often lead to considerable success in terms of recognized achievement in some area of life; some accomplishment of power over others. The healthy individual will strive to overcome his inferiority feelings through involvement with society. He is concerned about the welfare of others as well as himself. He develops good feelings of self-worth and self-assurance. 
The negative responses to these feelings of inferiority become the inferiority complex or the superiority complex. Both reflect feelings of inferiority for they are two sides of the same coin. There are those who act and feel inferior and those who feel inferior but in denial try to lord it over others. The interesting thing is that they are both symptoms of a poor self-image. The individual with a superiority complex is more concerned with attaining selfish goals than with social interest. He may express this selfishness in a need to dominate, to refuse to cooperate, or he may want to take and not to give. 
Feelings of inferiority activate one to strive upwards, so that normal feelings of inferiority impel the human being to solve their problems successfully. On the other hand, the inferiority complex and superiority complex impedes or prevents them from doing so. Be it noted that feelings of inferiority can be expressed in many different ways. 
Adler liked to tell this story about three children who visited the zoo for the first time. As they stood before the lion's cage, one of them shrank behind his mother's skirts and said, "I want to go home." The second child stood where he was, very pale and trembling, and said, "I'm not a bit frightened." The third glared at the lion fiercely and asked his mother, "Shall I spit at it?" All three children really felt inferiority, but each expressed his feelings in his own way, consonant with his style of life. These feelings of inferiority lead to a STRIVING FOR SUPERIORITY. The striving for superiority is innate and carries the individual from one stage to the next. This striving can and does manifest itself in many different ways and each person has his own way of attempting to achieve perfection. This idea progressed through three stages. Adler first came to the conclusion that aggression is more important than sexuality. The aggressive impulse was followed by the "will to power" and finally "striving for superiority." Many people reading Adler come to the wrong conclusion that striving for superiority is equated with "striving for power." Adler described the striving for power as a source of neurosis and crime. He pointed out that striving for power drives people in useless directions. Power-lust is a mental disorder or disease. All people wish to overcome the difficulties and problems of their life. Each individual would like to reach a point in life when he feels strong and complete. Adler wrote, "We shall always find in human being this great line of activity; this struggle to rise from an inferior to a superior position, from defeat to victory, from below to above. 
"It begins in earliest childhood and continues to the end of our lives." The healthy individual will strive for superiority through his involvement with society. He will have a concept of superiority that includes the welfare of others as well as himself. The neurotic lives his life in constant fear of loss that will express itself in the need to dominate, to refuse to cooperate, to be aggressive and use antisocial behaviour. Regarding both the healthy and neurotic striving for superiority, Adler writes, "If an individual, in the meaning he gives to life, wishes to make a contribution, and if his emotions are all directed to this goal, he will naturally be bound to bring himself into the best shape. He will begin to equipment himself to solve the three problems of life (behaviour toward others, occupation and love) and to develop his abilities." If he works to ease and enrich others as well as himself, he shall enrich his own life and others. If he develops his personality without regards to others, he will make himself unpleasant and seek to solve the problems of life in unhealthy ways. Understanding feelings of inferiority, compensation, and striving for superiority should be an asset in counseling your clients. 
Certainly one of the biggest problems in our society is the inappropriate handling of feelings of inferiority. It is our opportunity as therapist and counsellors to help people find ways to best use their feelings of inferiority to benefit themselves and society. 

ALFRED ADLER'S FAMILY CONSTELLATION, FICTIONAL FINALISM, AND THEORY FAMILY CONSTELLATION: 

Adler stressed that the order of birth was an important determiner of personality. In spite of their common heritage, siblings are usually very different from each other. It is not the child's position in the successive births that influences his character, but the situation into which he is born and the way in which he interprets it. For instance: if two children of a family are born much later than the earlier ones, the oldest of the two may develop like a first born and the younger one as a second child. The first born child is given a great deal of attention until the second child is born and then the first is dethroned from his favoured position. This dethroning experience may affect the child in a number of ways. It may cause him to protect himself against reversals, be conservative and insecure or it may cause him to develop a striving to protect others and be a helper. "If the parents have allowed the first-born to feel sure of their affection, if he knows that his position is secure, and above all, if he is prepared for the arrival of the younger child and has been trained to cooperate in its care, the crisis will pass without ill effects." 
The second child is in a different situation for he shares attention with another child and is therefore a little more likely to cooperate than the oldest child. He has a sibling that is older than he is and who is ahead of him so he strives to catch up. Adler used the Biblical account of Jacob and Esau as an example for the second child's striving to surpass the older sibling. The second child may continue his exaggerated struggle for equality with the older child or his ambitiousness may result in worthwhile achievement.
All other children may be dethroned but never the youngest who is always the baby of the family and often spoiled in the process. As he has no followers but many pacemakers, he may strive to overcome them all. Again Adler uses the Bible to illustrate his point as he refers to Joseph and David. He includes Joseph because he was 17-years-old when his younger brother, Benjamin, was born. Adler believed that the oldest child would most likely become a problem child and a neurotic maladjusted adult with the youngest following closely behind. The second child is by and large better adjusted than either his older or younger siblings. The only child has problems of his own for the mother often pampers him. She is afraid of losing him, so spoils him as a results of her over protectiveness. As he has no siblings, his feelings of competition is often directed against his father or a girl against her mother. In later years when he is no longer the centre of attention, he may have difficulties. 

FICTIONAL FINALISM: 
Adler was influenced by the philosopher Hans Vaihinger whose book, The Psychology of the "As If" was published in 1911. In this book, Vaihinger proposed that people live by many fictional ideals that have no relations to reality. These are ideas that cannot be tested and confirmed. Some of these are "all men are created equal," "honesty is the best policy," and "the end justifies the means." The fictions may help people to deal more effectively with the reality or may hinder their efforts to accept reality. 
Adler took this idea and came to the conclusion that people are motivated more by their expectations of the future than they are by the past. If a person believes that there is a heaven for those who are good and a hell for those who are bed, it will probably affect how he lives. An ideal or absolute is a fiction. Adler's Fictional Finalism is an interesting idea for the hypnotherapist. Fictional Finalism simply states that people act as much from the "as if" as from reality. One of my understandings of the subconscious mind is that whatever the subconscious mind accepts as true, it acts "as if" it is true whether it is or not. When one imagines tasting a lemon, his month waters and often he tastes the lemon "as if" there really was a lemon to lick. Ansbacher states that there are five points to Adler's understanding of Fictional Finalism: (1) The fictional final goal became for Adler the principle for internal, subjective causation of psychological events, (2) The goal represented a creation of the individual and was largely subconscious, (3) It also became the principle of unity and self-consistency of the personality structure: from the point of the view of the subject, the fictional goal was taken (4) as the basis for orientation in the world and (5) as one aspect of compensation for felt inferiority. 

THEORY OF PSYCHOANALYSIS: 
The Adlerian Therapist departed from Freud's method of having the client recline on a couch while the therapist sits behind the client. Adler preferred to face the client and engage in free discussion, not free association. There are four phases of counselling for the Adlerian: (1) the relationship, (2) the investigation of dynamics, (3) interpretations to the client and (4) reorientation. The relationship with the client that the Adlerian seeks to establish is one of friendliness and cooperation. Adler places a high value on the social relationship between the therapist and the client. He believed that this relationship could serve as a reeducation bridge to other relationships. He felt that all people who fail are deficient in concern and love for their fellow human beings. He spent a lot of time in an attempt to help the client develop social interest. 
The Adlerian concept of cooperation follows as the therapist sets the example of love, concern and friendship. Adler personally emanated a quiet magic and one felt his inner warmth and interest so strongly that there was immediate rapport between himself and the client. The investigation phase explores the current life situation as it is viewed by the client to include his complaints, problems, and symptoms. The functioning of the individual in the three major areas of life (work, social, and sex) are investigated and discussed. The patient's early life, position in the family constellation, and his relationships to siblings and parents are discussed. The following questions and similar ones are often asked, "And why do you feel like that about it?" "What do you think is the reason for your reacting that way?" "What purpose does your illness serve?" Gradually the client realizes how he got into his way of making inappropriate reactions to his problem. Knowing why he reacts as he does, he has the opportunity to change. As he changes, he is in a position to substitute a wise for a foolish reaction, a courageous for a cowardly one, a normal for a hysterical one. 
The interpretation phase puts an emphasis on the goals and style of life of the client. The therapist has the client look at his feelings and the purpose for his feelings. The client will not be told what to do but is shown how he is living out his style of life and what it costs the client to do so. The mirror technique is used so that the individual looks at himself. In the reorientation stage, the client is encouraged to drop the old style of life and take up another that will help him to deal with the realities of life and receive more satisfaction from living. 
The Adlerian uses encouragement extensively in therapy. The purpose of this encouragement is to help the patient make the transfer from a style of life that is faulty to one that is healthy. Encouragement is given with the understanding that the client must gain for himself an attitude toward life that will allow him to approach and overcome his problems in a realistic manner. To be healthy, the client must learn to handle his problems with common sense and social interest instead of fantasy. The therapist should be optimistic, cheerful, tolerant, active and have empathy. Clients should find the therapist a dependable and benevolent human being. Adler compares the individual who has a faulty style of life with a person who is caught in a dark room and cannot find an exit. The therapist helps the client illuminate the room so that he can find a way out to a new way of dealing with his problems. Adler wrote, "Every individual represents both a unity of personality and the individual fashions that unity. The individual is thus both the picture and the artist. Therefore if one can change his concept of himself, he can change the picture that he is painting."

ALFRED ADLER'S THEORY: 
STYLE OF LIFE AND SOCIAL INTEREST:

"Style of life" or "life style" are common terms for us today. It may come as surprise to many that Alfred Adler coined those phrases. "Style of life" was the slogan of Alder's Individual Psychological and personality theory. It is the recurrent theme in all of Adler's later writings and the most distinctive feature of his psychology. In his writings, Adler used the terms "style of life," "pattern of life," "life plan," "Life scheme," and "line of movement" interchangeably. For Adler, the individual's STYLE OF LIFE is one's personality, the unity of the personality, the individual form of creative opinion about oneself, the problems of life and his whole attitude to life and others. During the first few years of life, each individual develops a style of life that greatly influences his behaviour. Adler wrote, "If we know the goal of a person, we can undertake to explain and to understand what the psychological phenomena want to tell us why they were created, what a person had made of his innate material, why he had made it just so and not differently, how his character traits, his feelings and emotions, his logic, his morals, and his aesthetic must be constituted in order that he may arrive at his goal. If we could infer the individually comprehended goal from the ornaments and melodies of a human life and, on this basis, develop the entire style of life (and the underlying individual law of movement), we could classify a person with almost natural-science accuracy. We could predict how a person would act in a specific situation." 
The life style of the individual is considered the key to his behaviour. His major goal is superiority and compensation for his feeling of inferiority, but he may achieve this goal in a great variety of ways. The striving for superiority is based on the human's ability to be aware of himself, of his ability to remember past experiences and to imagine himself in the future. The individual's life style is determined by his inventive and creative power and is an expression of his uniqueness. Each person develops his concept of self and of people and of the environment which surrounds him in his own unique and personal way. Each person has a specific goal that is all his own and which makes him different from any other person. As he follows that goal, he adapts early in life with specific techniques for attaining it. The child may feel that he is helpless and that he can have life only by gaining the support of others. Throughout his life he will be unable to assert himself constructively, to take direct initiative for his own destiny. He may develop an illness or disability that demands the care of others. As the illness develops, it becomes a compensation for the individual's failure. He may then say, "If I didn't have this illness, I could succeed as easily as anyone else." The style of life becomes fixed, for the individual must cling to his illness or the bluff of his claim of possible accomplishment would be recognized. The illness must be convincing enough, both to himself and others, to maintain the pretence. The patient is not consciously aware that his illness is an excuse for none fulfilment. Adler wrote, "His chief occupation is to look for other people to take his burden into account and thus win his way to privilege in life, judged by more lenient standard than others. At the same time, he pays the cost of it with his neurosis." 
No one is forced to continue all his life in one direction, for when he realizes his mistakes, he can change his style of life and rid himself of those barriers to a meaningful life. Adler believed that the spoiled child seeks to be the centre of attention. The hated child adopts the goal of escaping to a safe distance from others. The eldest child adopts the attitude of keeping what is his, the second child seeks to surpass, and the only child assumes that others will serve and he will rule. Childhood experiences which often, but not necessarily, predispose the child to a faulty style of life are children with inferiorities, spoiled children and neglected children. These conditions often produce erroneous conceptions of the world and results in a pathological negative style of life. Children with physical or mental infirmities are likely to have a greater feeling of inferiority than others in meeting the task of life. Unless they make proper compensations for their inferiority, they will have difficulty in enjoying a meaningful life. 
Adler believed that pampering a child was the greatest curse that could be experienced by a child. They are potentially the most dangerous to society for they expect others to conform to their self-centred wishes. Pampering robs the child of his independence. He is not given the opportunity to accomplish something for himself. This prevents him using his own power and from learning to cooperate with others. The neglected child, who was badly treated in childhood, may become an enemy of society. Basic life styles: (1). The well-adjusted does not strive for personal superiority, but seeks to solve his problems in ways that are useful to other as well as himself. (2). The second type wants to prove his personal superiority by ruling others. (3). The third type is the getting type. They want to get everything through others without any effort or struggle of their own. (4). The fourth tries to avoid every decision. They are the avoiding type.
Adler believed that the style of life came from early experiences but unlike Freud, the determinist, Adler wrote, "We do not suffer from the shock of our experience, the so-called trauma, but we make out of them just what suits our purpose. We are self-determined by the meaning we give our own experiences. We are masters of our own actions." Adler believed that an almost radical change in character and behaviour would take place when an individual adopted new goals. Adler said that man is not bad by nature. Whatever his faults have been, faults due to erroneous conception of life, he must not be oppressed by them. He can change. The past is gone and with a change in his life style, the individual is free in the present and future to experience happiness and bring happiness to others. The style of life is influenced mostly by the quality of the individual's SOCIAL INTEREST.
Adler wrote, "Social interest is the true and inevitable compensation for the natural weakness of individual human beings." Social interest is inborn but that inborn quality is brought to its fullness by guidance and training. The child comes into this world completely dependent upon others. A person's style of life cannot be understood without considering the people with whom he comes into contact. Relationships with mother, other family members and society affects an individual in his choice of a style of life. 
In order to understand an individual, it is necessary to consider his attitude toward his fellowman and himself. The normal person with a well-developed social interest will adopt a useful style of life by contributing to the common welfare and thus overcoming his feelings of inferiority. On the other hand, the impaired individual is characterized by his inferiority feelings, underdeveloped social interest and in uncooperative goals of superiority. The impaired solves his problems in a self-centred, private-sense rather than a task-centred, common-sense fashion. In regards to the person who spends much time in support of public causes, but has little concern for the individual, Adler wrote, "It is easier to embrace the world than a single human being." As one learns to contribute to the common welfare, he comes to have a feeling of worth and value and begins to feel at home in life. Social interest enhances one's intelligence, heightens his self-esteem, and enables him to adjust to unexpected misfortune. Social interest gives meaning and purpose to life. 

BEVERLY'S CASE HISTORY USING ALFRED ADLER'S THEORY OF PSYCHOANALYSIS: 

Beverly, a 22-year-old single female who worked as a dental assistant, came to the hospital for a skin graft to cover a large scar on her left leg. Following high school, Beverly joined the army and spent four years on active duty. Shortly after her release from the army, she had an accident while riding a bicycle that was the cause of the scar on her leg. She was very self-conscious about the scar and believed that people stared at her. She was hurt and embarrassed by their staring at her leg. After that experience, she would not leave her home without a bandage over the scar or she would ware slacks. I was consulted to work with her for pain management and self-esteem. To help her cope with her situation, I used several techniques and appropriate scripts for pain management and increasing self-confidence and self-esteem. 
1. (PRE-SCHOOL PERIOD): Beverly was an illegitimate child who was raised by her grand parents until she was 13 years old. Though she knew who her mother was, she called her grandmother, "mother." She said that her relationship with her grandfather was good but she felt closer to her grandmother. Her grandparents were strict, setting limits and wanting to know where she was and what she was doing. Looking back on their concern, she felt that their limits were an indication of their love for her. "I had the hurts and accidents of childhood but grandmother and grandfather were always there to show me love." Beverly remembers an incident when she was crying which made a lasting impression on her. Her grandmother tried to get her to stop crying but she would not. Beverly' s grandmother said, "I am leaving you in this room so you can cry as long and as loud as you like, but no will hear you." This experience really frightened Beverly. After that experience, she was always "very good so that grandmother would know that I love her." 
2. (ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PERIOD): Beverly looked forward to beginning school. Throughout school, Beverly made above average grades. "I really enjoyed learning under all my teachers except three who did not motivate me." Until Kay's death two years before Beverly's hospitalization for the graft, Beverly had a very close friend, Kay, who was two years older and "like a sister." It was Kay, rather than her grandparents, who told her about sex and to whom she was sent for sexual advice. "Grandmother never knew exactly how to talk with me about sex so I would go to Kay with my questions." Beverly had not been given any instructions concerning menstruation, so she was very frightened when she first stated at age 11. Kay told her what was happening and then everything was all right. Beverly masturbated occasionally throughout her teenage years. It began out of curiosity and experimentation. Referring to the first time she masturbated to orgasm, "I did not know what was happening. It was kind of like an explosion, but it felt good and I enjoyed it." Beverly had little guilt when she masturbated for she considered it as a natural part of growing up. As she began to develop, Beverly felt good because she wanted to catch and keep up with Kay. "She was like a sister to me and I wanted to keep up with her. I felt really grown up. It was kind of exciting. When I started to develop, I said, "Great, now I am catching up with Kay, now everybody will be proud of me." 
4. (HIGH SCHOOL PERIOD): At the age of 13, Beverly went to live with her mother. Due to financial reasons and the health of her grandparents, she was forced to live with her mother and stepfather. Beverly often had conflicts with her mother for "she was very temperamental. I was not used to her and she scared me. She did not trust me with boys even though I gave her no cause to be untrustful of me. I felt she was judging me by what she had done." Beverly had a very good relationship with her stepfather. He understood her and she could talk with him. He would take her to the movies and swimming. "Mother would not go. She could have but would not." Beverly's stepfather helped her and her mother adjust to one another. "I could not have asked for a better stepfather. I felt accepted by him." 
4. (POST HIGH SCHOOL PERIOD): After high school, Beverly decided to join the army with the promise that she would be trained as a dental assistant. After her basic and technical training, she was stationed in Germany. She met a soldier, Tom, and this friendship developed into intimacy. After courting for several months, she had her first sexual experience with this soldier. "Though I enjoyed sex, it was not until the third experience with Tom that I reached a climax. When I think of that experience, it was like rockets going off inside me. It was a wonderful experience." After departed Germany, Tom and Beverly corresponded for several weeks until he quit writing. In addition to Beverly's normal feelings of inferiority, she had to live with the fact that she was an illegitimate child and was deserted by her mother as an infant. Due to the love and concern that she experienced from her grandparents, she was able to develop without her feelings of inferiority becoming an inferiority complex. The scar on her leg had given her some feelings of inferiority. Though she experiences some self-consciousness about the scar, she has adjusted well to life with it. Beverly compensates for her scar by being the "best dental assistant that I can be" and by wearing slacks. Her need to wear a dress with any boy that she likes is an effort to check out his reaction to the scar. Beverly wants the boy to know early in their relationship so that she will not be hurt if he should reject her because of it. Beverly's striving for superiority and her style of life is expressed in being a good girl so that her grandparents and others will love her. She did not strive for personal superiority but solved the problem in a way that was useful to others as well as herself. 
In becoming a dental assistant, she chose a helping professional which showed her interest in others. Though Beverly was an only child in the home of her grandparents, they did not spoil her. They were strict but caring and this was experienced by Beverly as an expression of their love and concern. Beverly was able to develop a very close relationship with a neighbor, Kay, who was like an older sister. Through their relationship, Beverly developed a sense of cooperation with others. Characteristics of a second or younger child can be seen in Beverly's relationship with Kay. Beverly refers to Kay as "being like a sister." In this relationship, Beverly shows an ambition to catch up with and perhaps go ahead of Kay. I believe that Beverly's greatest fear is in being deserted by those with whom she develops a close relationship. This fear is based on her mother deserting her at birth, her grandmother deserting her at the age of 13, Kay's deserting her by death, and Tom deserting her after she got out of the army. In spite of these reversals, Beverly makes friends with ease and has a great deal of social interest. She said, "I know that I should not become so attached to people because they can leave and hurt you, but I love people enough to take the risk. I think that it worth the effort." In addition to helping her with pain management, I worked with her to improve her self-confidence, self-esteem, and feelings of self-worth. Basically Beverly feels good about herself now and has a style of life undergirded with social interest. As she has a concern for others as well as herself, I believe that she will probably have a very satisfying life. Beverly is a well-adjusted person who can function well in society.