Introduction
In order to be a competent counselor, one must study different theories and techniques to tailor each session to fit the needs of a client. Identifying which method or technique works best for a client will help both the therapist and client be more successful in resolving the problems the client is experiencing. In this paper, I focused on one theory and used it to find out how my childhood experiences shaped who I am today.
Technique Description and Theoretical Rationale
The exercise I chose to complete was Adlerian therapy. For this exercise, I had to think back to my childhood and pick the first three earliest recollections that came to mind and try to remember what emotions I was experiencing at that time. Next, I had to…show more content… Being the second daughter of only two children in my family, I realized that when I was younger, I craved attention from adults and wanted them to like me. I always did what I was told because I thought if I followed the instructions and rules that adults would like me more since I wasn't causing trouble. As I child I wanted to be the "teacher's pet" and have the best grades out of not only everyone in my class, but especially have better grades than my older sister. I also became aware that I had a difficult time sharing my things with other children when I was younger. To this day I still have some issues with sharing my possessions with others, but I have gotten much better at it. I think being the second child of only two children is definitely reflective of my personality today. I am always competing with my older sister; I constantly ask about her grades and job to make sure I am doing better than she is. Since she was a year older, in school teachers would usually refer to me as "Cathy's little sister" when I first met them and to prove that I was more than just her sister I put in more effort to get better grades and be the better sister. To this day I still am very conscious of being one of the best students in a class, and I seek approval from my peers and…show more content… Adlerian therapy can be applied to any client because it involves doing a straightforward exercise of memory retrieval; anyone can do it. Common themes may begin to surface that can be brought to the attention of the client and can be discussed with the therapist in greater detail. Another strength is that the concept of family constellation described with almost perfect accuracy the traits I have because I am the second child of only two children. I was excited to hear that other people experienced the same characteristics as I did growing up with an older sibling. Growing up I always felt that I needed to find something to be better at than my sister, which I found was cooking and being more creative, to receive praise from my