Lifestyle assessment and early recollections

Domain I · Psychodynamic & depth psychology · Shulman, Mosak · 1988 · Chicago

What it is

Life style assessment is not a stand-alone therapy. It is the structured assessment and interpretation phase of Adlerian psychotherapy. The therapist reconstructs the client's "life style" — the private set of convictions about self, others, life and how one must act to belong and feel significant…

Format

• Phase 1 — Relationship. Goal: a collaborative, egalitarian relationship with aligned goals (therapist and client agree what they are working toward). Format: initial interview, usually 1–2 sessions. Includes presenting problem, the "subjective situation" (how the client experiences it) and…
• Phase 2 — Investigation / life style assessment. Goal: gather family constellation and ER data, interpret it, write the summary. Format in the Chicago tradition: family constellation interview in one session (often 50–90 minutes), ERs in the next session, summary prepared between sessions and…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Images that mock.
• Praise that sets a new standard to live up to.
• Forcing a narrative where the order is arbitrary.
• Your own pull to rescue or argue; supervision helps.
• Tasks too big (set up failure for discouraged clients).

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.