Adler, Alfred 1870-1937 Born in Vienna, Austria. Studied medicine, later became a disciple of Freud. Diverged from Freud over the sexual impulse being all important in human behaviour. Adler saw people as goal oriented, with an urge toward personal growth and wholeness. He stated that in dreams we can clearly see our aggressive impulses and desire for fulfilment. Dreams can also help the dreamer define two often conflicting aspects of their experience – their image or sense of themselves, and their sense of what is socially acceptable. Because we strive from our earliest years to have some control over ourselves and surroundings, we may develop a style of life around a sense of inferiority or lack of power. So a person who feels vulnerable may become aggressive to compensate. Adler therefore felt that in our dreams we not only see what we think of ourselves, and what our environmental situation is, but also find a definition of our techniques for satisfying our drive to deal with and succeed in the world.
