Autism Spectrum Disorder from a Psychoanalytic Viewpoint

An underlying understanding of personality theories can help individuals understand how patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors make up an individual's personality. Psychoanalytic approaches emphasize the unconscious mind and how it influences behavior (Berlin, 2014). This approach often focuses on early childhood experiences and unresolved conflicts and how they shape personality. Although Sigmund Freud is widely regarded as the father of psychoanalysis, other psychoanalytic approaches were built and modified upon his foundational conclusions and core concepts to create enhanced frameworks that focused on different aspects of the human experiences that offered alternative perspectives on Freud's original theories. 


The Adlerian Approach


Adlerian theory, developed by Dr. Alfred Adler, emphasizes individual uniqueness and encompasses goal-oriented behavior. Dr. Adler believed that everyone experiences real and perceived feelings of inferiority, which encourages motivation to strive for personal growth and superiority. Under his theory, individuals develop abilities and skills to overcome perceptions of weaknesses and achieve mastery, which recompenses the drive and efforts to persevere. Ansbacher (1967) described Adlerian theory as a nonreactive concept of lifestyle. In other words, rather than responding or reacting to poor or negative external stimuli, a non-reactor, also known as an actor, finds initiative and drives under these circumstances to act based on their desires and goals. With the fuel of personal-gained structure and motivation, situations are proactively shaped.


Autism Through Adler's Lenses


Adlerian theory perceives all behavior as goal-oriented (Ansbacher, 1967), including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits and characteristics. Unlike other theories, Adlerian does not seclude behaviors common in ASD as exclusive neurological deficits but rather as reasonable choices an individual on the spectrum makes given their understanding of their condition. As the theory emphasizes, striving exists in all individuals regardless of level of cognitive functionality and developmental challenges. It can manifest differently depending on the level of the disorder and impairment that affects emotional and sensory processing and social communication. Still, from Adler's perspective, all individuals are motivated by a deep sense of significance and social belonging. 


Likewise, Adler believed that personal growth and development were promoted through an innate desire to find significance and belonging in society. Because Adlerian theory does not solely focus on the childhood phase of the lifespan, forming the Adlerian "lifestyle" (Ansbacher, 1967) in early childhood promotes adaptation to perceived challenges and the development of the self in adulthood. In simple terms, Adlerian theory supports the belief that autistic individuals learn to adapt to their limitations and create unique patterns of thinking, interacting, and behaving that best suit deficiencies. 

Adler's belief in inferiority being universal rules our emotional and behavioral challenges in autism as rooted in pathology. Instead, Adlerian theory frames deficits as a response to discouragement due to misunderstandings or exclusions from social settings and environments incompatible with neurodiverse minds. 


Adlerian theory strongly encourages therapeutic change as it can help autistic clients affirm their unique traits and value their strengths while building deficiencies like self-worth and resilience. Therapeutic interventions can help clients foster social interest, focusing on finding common areas and interests to feel socially connected by addressing past behaviors and the underlying motivation of current ones (Erbaş, 2023). 






References
  1. Ansbacher, H. L. (1967). Life style: A historical and systematic review. Journal of Individual Psychology, 23(2), 191.
  2. Berlin, H. A. (2011). The neural basis of the dynamic unconscious. Neuropsychoanalysis, 13(1), 5-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/15294145.2011.10773654
  3. Erbaş, M. M. (2023). Adlerian therapy: A general review. International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Education, 7(2), 79-90. https://doi.org/10.29329/ijiape.2023.567.3

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