CCMH 506 Week 1 Psychodynamic and Adlerian Models Example

Alana's Inner Critic Through Two Lenses: A Psychodynamic and an Adlerian Reading of One Client

[Student Name]

University of Phoenix

CCMH/506: Personality Theories and Counseling Models

Week 1 Assignment

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The clinic, the client and all details are composites written for a model paper; theories and research findings come from the sources listed.

Alana Brooks came to our clinic saying, "There's a voice in my head that never shuts up about how I'm failing." This term, I will apply eight counseling models to her, one each week. This paper begins with psychodynamic and Adlerian approaches.

Alana

Alana is twenty-nine, Black, the first in her family with a college degree and a paralegal at a Tempe law firm. Four months ago her partner of three years ended their relationship, saying she was "too intense." Since then she has felt low, slept poorly and stayed late at work redoing tasks she fears are flawed. She describes her mother as loving but exacting, someone who said, "You have to be twice as good," and checked her homework nightly. Her father left when she was six. She has a few close friends but has stopped calling them. She is not suicidal.

The Psychodynamic View

Psychodynamic approaches assume that much of mental life operates outside awareness, that past relationships shape present patterns and that painful feelings are often avoided in ways that cause new problems. Shedler (2010) reviewed evidence on psychodynamic therapy and identified features that distinguish its technique: attention to emotion and its expression, looking at how clients steer around painful thoughts and feelings, spotting themes that keep coming back, discussing past experiences, focusing on relationships, attending to the relationship with the therapist and exploring wishes, fears and fantasies. Shedler concluded that the effects of psychodynamic therapy were comparable to those of other evidence-based treatments and that gains tended to last and even increase after treatment ended.

Reading Alana Psychodynamically

A psychodynamic counselor would listen for patterns. Alana's inner critic sounds like an internalized version of her mother's checking, now turned inward. Her partner's complaint that she was too intense might connect to fear of abandonment rooted in her father's departure, a fear she manages by trying to be perfect so no one leaves. Her overwork may be a way to avoid grief about the breakup. In sessions, the counselor would notice whether Alana expects judgment from the counselor and would gently explore that expectation as it happens, since the therapy relationship offers a live view of her patterns.

Brief or Long Term?

Leichsenring and Rabung (2008) meta-analyzed studies of long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, lasting at least a year or fifty sessions. For complex mental disorders, such as personality disorders, chronic conditions and multiple co-occurring problems, long-term therapy produced better outcomes than shorter treatments, with large improvements in overall functioning and symptoms.

Alana's difficulties seem less complex: a depressive reaction to loss layered on long-standing perfectionism. A briefer psychodynamic approach focused on her central relational pattern may suit her, with longer work considered if patterns prove deeply entrenched.

Alana's inner critic may be her mother's voice, kept close because it once felt like love and protection.

The Adlerian View

Carlson et al. (2006) described Adlerian therapy as holistic, goal-oriented and social. Adlerians see people as striving to belong and to feel significant, with behavior guided by goals, often outside awareness, rather than driven by the past. Each person develops a lifestyle, a characteristic way of moving toward goals based on early conclusions about self, others and life, sometimes called private logic. Psychological health shows in social interest, a sense of belonging and contribution. Therapy moves through building a relationship, assessing the lifestyle through family constellation and early recollections, fostering insight into mistaken beliefs and reorienting toward more useful goals, with encouragement throughout.

Reading Alana Adlerianly

An Adlerian counselor would ask about Alana's family constellation: an only child raised by a single mother who worked two jobs and pinned hopes on her. Early recollections would offer clues. Alana recalled, at seven, bringing home a spelling test with one error and watching her mother's face fall. Her private logic might be: "I am only worthy if I am flawless." Her goal, to secure belonging through perfection, makes sense given her history but is costing her friendships and rest. Encouragement, noticing effort and growth rather than outcomes, would counter her discouragement, and reconnecting with friends would strengthen social interest.

Comparing the Models

Both models take Alana's history seriously. The psychodynamic model looks backward and inward, at feelings she avoids and patterns she repeats, and uses the therapy relationship as a tool. The Adlerian model looks forward, at the goals her behavior serves, and emphasizes encouragement, belonging and practical change. Psychodynamic work may help Alana grieve and understand her fear of abandonment; Adlerian work may help her revise the belief that worth requires perfection and reconnect with others.

Culture

Both models need cultural care. Her mother's message, "twice as good," reflects a real response to racism, not simply a parenting style. Neither model should pathologize it. An Adlerian emphasis on social context and belonging may fit Alana's experience, and a psychodynamic counselor would need to explore how racism and being first in her family shape her inner critic.

Limits of Each Model

Each model also has limits for Alana. Psychodynamic work can feel slow to a client who wants relief now, and Alana told me she wants "tools, not just talking." Adlerian lifestyle assessment can seem intrusive early in treatment if it asks for family history before trust is built. Research on Adlerian therapy is thinner than for psychodynamic therapy, with fewer controlled trials, so I would hold its concepts as useful guides rather than proven mechanisms. Both models leave room for the skills-based work later weeks will add.

What Fits Me

I am drawn to the psychodynamic attention to patterns and the therapy relationship, and to Adlerian encouragement. With Alana, I would begin by exploring her inner critic's history while encouraging small acts of reconnection.

Questions for Supervision

Applying these models raised questions I will bring to supervision. How do I explore Alana's relationship with her mother without implying her mother was harmful? How much should I attend to her expectation that I will judge her, and when would naming it feel intrusive rather than helpful? And how do I hold the Adlerian emphasis on goals alongside the psychodynamic emphasis on feelings without confusing her?

A First Session Plan

In our next session, I will ask Alana to describe a recent moment when the inner critic was loud, what it said, how she felt and what she did next. Both models can use that material: the psychodynamic counselor would look for avoided feelings and echoes of earlier relationships, and the Adlerian counselor would look for the goal the critic serves. Starting with a concrete moment keeps the conversation grounded in her experience rather than in theory.

Conclusion

Psychodynamic and Adlerian models offer complementary readings of Alana's self-criticism: one sees an internalized critic guarding against abandonment, the other a mistaken belief that worth requires perfection. Both have research and practice support, and both suggest that understanding her history can loosen its grip.

References

Carlson, J., Watts, R. E., & Maniacci, M. (2006). Adlerian therapy: Theory and practice. American Psychological Association.

Leichsenring, F., & Rabung, S. (2008). Effectiveness of long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy: A meta-analysis. JAMA, 300(13), 1551-1565. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.300.13.1551

Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2), 98-109. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018378