Courage in Individual Psychology beyond psychotherapeutic techniques of encouragement

Abstract

The importance of the process of encouragement is highlighted, originally proposed by Adler for both psychotherapy and education and then widely developed and disseminated by Dinkmeyer and Dreikurs in the field of education, but not sufficiently recognized in its validity in the analytical field.
The transformative value of analysis is emphasized, understood not only as relief from the patient's discomfort, but as an opportunity for evolution.
The therapist, driven to assert their own will to power, places themselves in an excessively supportive position and lavishes gratification from their asymmetrical position, making the patient complacent and preventing genuine encounter and transformation. It is therapeutic, on the other hand, for the analyst to be a companion who stands alongside the patient with the courage to traverse the unknown and support their creative and unique search for meaning