Psychopathology

Of the three pioneers of the study of psychopathology in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Alfred Adler stands out as the one who has most influenced those psychologists and psychiatrists who have followed. Emphasizing concepts as inferiority feelings and their compensations, social interest, birth order, lifestyle, and family constellation, Adler's theory of personality, understanding of psychopathology, and approach to psychotherapy is studied, practiced, and accepted by millions worldwide. Describing people and behaviors as goal-oriented and purposive, Psychopathology: An Introduction to the Classical Adlerian Paradigm explains in clear and precise reader-friendly language how even unhealthy, self-defeating behaviors have a purpose. Through the Adlerian methods of psychotherapy the reasons underlying behaviors become clear, and the process of change begins. The text takes the reader from the development and forerunners of adult problem behaviors in childhood, to the psychodynamics of the adult disorder, through the psychological treatment of them.