ABSTRACT
Today more is known about the process of normal development and psychopathology than ever before. Similarly the hope is greater that treatment interventions can effectively reduce and even reverse psychopathological processes than in past decades. This chapter has three purposes: First, it describes Alfred Adler's basic view of normality and psychopathology along with some observations that extend and clarify it. Second, it compares the Individual Psychology or Adlerian view with the nosological or classification system of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994 ). Third, it suggests how diagnostic considerations can be linked to treatment interventions. A case example will be used to highlight these considerations by suggesting how a famous historical case might be formulated by a contemporary clinician.
