Individual Psychology: Contributions and Applications

This issue highlights several key Adlerian constructs, including parent education, early recollections and metaphors, holism, and social interest. The authors include empirical data, clinical applications, and case studies to articulate their contributions to this issue.

The lead article in this issue by Balla, titled "A Case Study of Social Embeddedness and Social Responsibility: Alfred and Raissa Epshtein Adler's Movement From Minus to Plus," links the theory of Individual Psychology to Alfred Adler's lived experiences. Constructs emphasized are movement from feelings of inferiority to the striving for significance, social equality and cooperation between the sexes, and social justice. Balla interprets and reviews Adler's memories and interviews with family members. This article emphasizes the relationships and events that influenced Adler's thinking and overall psychological and philosophical orientation.

The second article, "Active Parenting Now and Active Parenting of Teens: An Evaluation of Two Neo-Adlerian Parenting Programs," by Foley, Popkin, Mullis, and Cooper, examines the effects of two parent education programs. The findings provide empirical support for the use of both programs: Changes in parents' observations of their children's behavior and also changes in the parents' beliefs and attitudes about parenting were found among parents in the experimental group. The results from the Active Parenting Now intervention indicate that participants in the experimental group also reported positive changes in their children's behavior after the training.

The next article, "Revisiting Kopp's Metaphor-Transformation Protocol: Integrating Bodily Sensation and Self-Responsibility," by Levitt-Frank, extends Richard Kopp's metaphor-transformation protocol by incorporating bodily sensations, agency, and self-responsibility. This article highlights the value of conceptualizing human behavior from a holistic lens by integrating the mind and body connection in the metaphor transformation process. The somatic sensory component of this updated protocol truly extends Kopp's work and the theory of Individual Psychology by integrating early recollections and utilizing metaphor transformation. Metaphor transformation includes clients actively changing their negative bodily sensations and cognitions to positive and more realistic ones through self-responsibility and creativity. The article highlights this process through the use of a case study.

Freund, Gill, and Katz discuss legal and ethical conflicts and dilemmas among practitioners in their article titled "Understanding Counselor Values Conflict Through the Lens of Adlerian Social Interest." The authors offer an Adlerian framework for addressing intrapsychic and interprofessional dilemmas of values conflicts, and they apply several Adlerian theoretical constructs to addressing related issues of legal and ethical values.

Han, Rader, Pasagic, and Newbauer discuss the connection between contemporary neuroscience and Individual Psychology in their article "Frontal Circuits and the Temporoparietal Junction: Exploring the Neuroanatomy of Gemeinschaftsgefühl." Given the holistic nature of Individual Psychology, this article significantly contributes to and extends it. There is a wealth of literature and research that examines the brain and various neurological functions, but few authors have linked these findings to the work articulated by Alfred Adler and Rudolf Dreikurs. They also discuss constructs, such as theory of mind, social connection, empathy, and executive control, linking them to the neuroanatomy of Gemeinschaftsgefühl.

The final article in this issue is by Lam, a graduate student at Queen's University. Lam won the Journal of Individual Psychology's student writing competition, held from September 2018 though January 2019. Lam's theoretical article, titled "The Relationship Between Theory of Mind and Social Interest: A Literature Review," links the theory-of-mind literature and research to social interest and other Adlerian constructs.

The authors in this issue offer research and conceptual discussions that support and extend the theory of Individual Psychology. Upcoming issues in 2020 include two special issues, the first on play therapy and the second commemorating the 150th anniversary of Adler's birth.