Five Things You Should Know About Adlerian Early Memory Interpretation
When you think back to your earliest memories, they may seem quite banal—fleeting recollections of sitting on a grandparent’s lap or of playing with a favorite toy. Yet, according to pioneering psychiatrist Alfred Adler, an early memory serves as a metaphor for one’s unique life philosophy. Adler maintains that “every memory is a chosen reminder.”
1. What can I learn about myself from my earliest memories?
Early memories can reveal many insights. To name a few:
- Your unconscious philosophy about life, your “lifestyle.”
- Your approach to problem solving.
- Your approach to conflicts.
- How you work best with other people.
- The types of mistakes you tend to make over and over again—and why.
- Your hidden strengths.
2. Why does early memory interpretation work?
Of the tens of thousands of incidents that happen in early childhood, we recall just a few. We remember these events not because they are trivial or random but, rather, because they are significant to us. The memories reflect our personal beliefs about the deeper truths of life. Adler said we believe of our early memories, “Such is life!”
3. How does early memory interpretation work?
Early memory interpretation takes approximately one hour. During your session, the consultant will ask you questions about your hobbies, interests, major life decisions, and more. You can answer the questions in any way you wish; there is no delving into your personal life or your “deep dark secrets.” At the end of the session, you and the consultant interpret your memories together to uncover their meaning.
4. What should I know about Alfred Adler?
Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychiatrist and associate of Sigmund Freud, first developed the technique of early memory interpretation in the early 20th Century. He used the technique in his practice with his clients as well as in Viennese K-12 schools. He never fully explained his technique in writing, preferring to teach it in person to his colleagues and students. Because most of his colleagues and students were Jews and Socialists, Adler’s personal technique was largely lost to the ages with the Holocaust. In the meantime, later followers of Adler have developed other approaches to interpreting early memories.
5. How did Ellen Alderton learn this unpublished technique?
In 1993, I was analyzed and later trained by a practitioner of Adlerian psychology, Conrad Kaplan. Kaplan had learned Alfred Adler’s unpublished early memory interpretation technique from a personal student of Adler, Edith Foster. I was then privileged to spend three days in Sonora, California visiting Foster—at that time one of Adler’s last living pupils. Foster and I took that opportunity to interpret each other’s memories in the classic Adlerian style. In the subsequent years, I have continued to analyze early memories.
Contact
Ellen Alderton
Apple Pie Communications 