Winter 2020 Newsletter

From Our Past We Inform the Future
The kernels of Adlerian teaching in Minnesota began in 1966 when Bill and Miriam Pew invited Rudolf Dreikurs to present a Twin Cities workshop. Rudolf Dreikurs was leading the movement to inform, teach, and apply Adlerian Individual Psychology globally; what I call “taking Adler to the streets.” From this event and his influence, the Minnesota Chapter of the American Adlerian Society was formed in 1967 and in 1969 the Adler Institute emerged, offering classes and training in Adlerian Family Counseling and Individual Psychology for parents, children, and teachers. Then, in 1969, 501(c)(3) nonprofit status was awarded by the IRS.

The philosophy around the movement of the Family Counseling Centers and the Adler Institute was based on the premise in Adlerian Individual Psychology of equality, and that all people are goal-oriented and fulfill their human potential through cooperative social relationships, contributing to the group’s well-being or social interest. These same original values and premises have driven the current Adler Graduate School as we have grown from the Family Counseling Centers and Institute to offering graduate counseling courses in 1972, and, finally, achieving
graduate school status when we were awarded degree-granting authority by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education in 1989, and NCA (Higher Learning Commission) Accreditation in 1991. We have now gone through our 10-year accreditation cycle with the Higher Learning Commission in November; where they stated we were living our mission of “preparing mental health and human service professionals with a strong Adlerian foundation to foster encouragement, collaboration, and a sense of belonging to the individuals, families and culturally diverse communities they serve” with integrity.

Building the Future Together, Creating Social Interest
From your participation in our 50-year history, you remain a very important member of the Adlerian family and a contributor to the Adlerian movement. Our alumni are changing the face of our community, our students are gifted and enthusiastic, and our staff and faculty are outstanding in every way — taking Adlerian values to the street. We as a community grow through our mutual contributions as we work together to make the world a better place. Together we will create movement to a healthier world and fulfill our mission. There are a lot of great things happening at Adler Graduate School as we enter our 50th year. Our educational programs have grown, our curriculum is always improving to meet the needs of the community and the highest standards, and our Institute classes are providing our community Adlerian-based training to meet continuing education requirements. We are dedicated to preparing an increasingly diverse student body for service to an increasingly diverse community.

Thank you very much for being part of the Adlerian movement for our first 50 years, and in the future.