Corey Worthington Delaney Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corey Worthington Delaney - Case Study Example Alfred Adler was born in Vienna in 1870, decided in childhood to be a physician and ultimately earned a medical degree from the University of Vienna. He began his medical career as an ophthalmologist but moved into general practice. By the early 1900s, he had turned to psychiatry and was invited to join Sigmund Freud's discussion group. Adler's criticisms of Freud led to his forming his own group, the Society for Individual Psychology (Boeree 2003). According to Boeree, Adler's theory of a motivating force to fulfill potential was what he called "striving for perfection." The idea was that social interest, inherent and learned, can lead to fulfillment if nurtured. Adler (Slaney, Ashby & Trippi 1995, p. 280) considers that "striving for perfection" is innate and universal and while normal individuals set difficult but attainable goals that can be adjusted, neurotics set unrealistic goals and require superiority in all things. It seems obvious in Corey' Worthington's case that his goal s are unrealistic and probably will not be realized by him, even though his agent promises him fame and fortune. It was Alfred Adler's belief that a person who is too self-interested will not be fulfilled and the failure is due to feelings of inferiority and lack of concern for others, only concern about self. Physical inferiority, Boeree (2003) notes, is brought about by outside forces and if an individual like Corey who is small for his age allows these feelings to take over, the result will be a tendency to be self-centered, antisocial, and lose support from others. A superiority complex might also develop when inferior feelings are covered up by practicing attention-getting dramatics that create a sense of power as is the case with Corey. According to T.W. Allen (1972 p. 4), the anniversary of Alfred Adler's birth in 1970 reinstated interest in his principles, which mainly had been associated with inferiority complex and were often considered a petulant contradiction of Freud. It became obvious, however, as new studies of Adler have been made, that his concept was a simple and successful method of analysis, and his Individual Psychology concept could especially benefit modern society. Adlerian Principles If Corey were willing to go into counseling in which the 12 Adlerian principles (Stein 2008; Croake 1983) are applied, he would first meet with a therapist who could perhaps (1) establish empathy by showing respect for him. In all of Corey's interactions with others in the limelight, no one ever showed him respect. If the therapist could establish a camaraderie, Corey would probably welcome the opportunity to (2) talk about his childhood, his problems adjusting to his stepfather, what happened to his father, whether he is angry that his parents show little compassion for him. When he understands why his feelings of superiority are (3) actually brought about by feelings of inferiority, he can begin to (4) move in a new direction. His mother and stepfather do not really (5) offer the connections he needs, and it will be difficult for him to make an effort to communicate with them