Welcome to The Connection,
NASAP’s Online Newsletter
November 2026 Issue
Dear Fellow Adlerians,
As I write this, I am researching Maryland down-ballot candidates for the upcoming election and wondering what this November’s midterms will portend for the future of the United States, our North American neighbors, and, indeed, the world. It strikes me that social interest and civic responsibility are deeply intwined, with the exercise of our right to vote representing a true expression of Gemeinschaftsgefühl. I believe Adler would agree.
I have read varying accounts of Adler’s political inclinations and activities, with authors reporting that the founder of Individual Psychology was either a confirmed socialist or at least strongly leaned toward European socialism. His wife Raissa, who was far more politically active, supported causes such as women's education, emancipation, reproductive and maternal issues, and women's status within marriage and society. She also associated closely with Vienna’s Russian revolutionary émigré community. The Adlers tragically made the ultimate sacrifice when their eldest daughter, Valentina, was jailed and died in Russia, likely due to Raissa’s involvement with Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky.
In this time when American citizens, our immigrant neighbors, and our international allies are being aggressively persecuted, I encourage the U.S. readers of The Connection to express your social interest and vote by this November 3.
Sincerely,
Ellen Alderton, Editor
President’s Message
Ben Rader, Psy.D.
It Is Our Job to Support the Work of Others
In this, my second address to The Connection as president, I wish to cast our attention beyond our organization, and consider those that are practicing Individual Psychology beyond our own operations. For me, this is of paramount significance.
However, in doing so, I wish only to highlight the purpose outlined in our own constitution, and in particular our second item, “to support the activities, efficiency, and development of individuals and groups in Individual Psychology.”
By the time Adler made that long trek across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States, he had already succeeded at birthing his brand of psychology, through the establishment of multiple organizations, practices, and clinics. These numerous entities continued doing his work and disseminating his transformative perspectives beyond Vienna and throughout Europe.
NASAP is hardly the first organization to set out to spread the word of Individual Psychology, and we could not do what we do now without learning from others that came before us. Therefore, remaining attentive to and supportive of the work that is done by others is hardly a selfless act. Indeed, we need these other groups and organizations for NASAP to meet its charge, but also to ensure that we as an entity do not live in an isolated bubble, unable to learn or grow from the contributions of others.
As I prepare this article in mid-August, I am struck by how these last few weeks since our conference have been busy times for Adlerian psychology. In June, the Adler Horizons conference brought in nearly 300 interested learners in the organizers’ first-ever live conference. Shortly thereafter, Positive Discipline hosted its in-person conference in Coral Springs, Florida. As of this week, much of the global Adlerian community is recovering from jetlag in their return from ICASSI. This week alone I have exchanged texts with Adlerians traveling to Lithuania, presenting in China, living in Mexico, and practicing in all four different continental time zones in the U.S. We are an active and diverse group of people!
So, when we think about the “success” of NASAP as an organization, what we really need to consider is not only how successful are we at bringing people to our conferences and trainings, but how successful we are at supporting, promoting, and encouraging the world outside of NASAP in promoting Adlerian perspectives the world over! And from my little spot on the map, what I see is a world that is absolutely hungry for Individual Psychology. In fact, it may be starving for it and not even know it!
Where were you on the map when Individual Psychology hit you? How did it change your headspace and worldview going forward? Did it change how you approached parenting? Did it change how you teach? How did it affect your view of the human condition, and how we show up for others? Did you know you needed it before you got it? Did you realize how rewarding it was going to be to share it before you passed it along to others?
Increasingly, I am reminded of how wonderfully selfish social interest is! This thing that we have in Individual Psychology, when we can give it away, comes back tenfold in improving things for our own lives. Similarly, it is when we can look beyond our own practices in Individual Psychology, and we can champion and support the activates and efforts of others, our own individual and organizational life is enriched.
So, as we move forward in our quest to live into our organization’s constitution and purpose, let us not forget that our purpose, at its core, is really about others. We have a charge in NASAP, to support and improve upon this shared work, that began before we even got here.
August News from the Office
By Susan Belangee, Ph.D., NASAP Executive Director
Summer down here near “Hot-lanta” always brings a slower pace simply because moving quickly wears you out. The heat and humidity are a force to contend with, but we find ways to march forward, albeit sweaty as we go. This month’s news offers fruits of some behind-the-scenes labor, so please take a moment to read the latest updates from the office.
1. The conference theme for the 75th Annual NASAP conference, happening next June 3-6, 2027, is “NASAP at 75: Social Interest and Belonging in Modern Times.” The call for proposals, both the main conference (Friday and Saturday sessions) as well as pre- and post-conference workshops, are available on the website. Use this link to go to that page.
2. There is also a great flyer on that same page that you can download and share with your colleagues, students, friends, etc. So please spread the word far and wide! If you are a member of a listserv for another organization, please share the flyer and the proposal information. The deadline is October 1, 2026.
3. Ben Rader is diligently trying to add members to the various committees in NASAP. If you are a current NASAP member (any type) and wish to contribute time, talents, and energy to a committee, please email Ben or email the office so we can connect you to that group. You can also complete the online Google form to share your interests. The available committees needing help include:
a. Public Relations
b. Conference and Meetings (Urgent need)
c. Constitution and By-Laws
d. Finance and Grants
e. Publications and Theory Development
f. Membership
g. Education and Professional Development
h. Ethics
4. An email was recently sent out to all NASAP members about the anticipated opening for the executive director position. After six years of officially serving in that capacity, it is time for me to hand over the reins to another capable individual. More information about the position requirements, salary, et cetera will be shared soon, but if you wish to indicate your interest now, please email the office.
5. If you attended the conference in Minneapolis and have not received your CE certificate, please email the office. There have been a few emails that have bounced and we have no other way of contacting you to send your certificate.
Thank you,
Susan
Earn Free Continuing Education Credits
The free continuing education article featured in Thinkific for this month is:
Pepper, F. (1979). The Characteristics of the Family Constellation. The Individual Psychologist, 16, 11-16[0.8 CE hrs]
This article offers an excellent list of style-of-living hypotheses that emerge from various sibling positions and relationships. Pepper, pictured at right, identifies five sibling positions and emphasizes the role of gender in the family constellation dynamics.
Floy Pepper (1917 – 2010) Was a Muscogee Creek Indian, teacher, school counselor and author. She met Rudolf Dreikurs while taking coursework at Oregon State University. She was a founding member of Oregon Society of Individual Psychology and co-authored Maintaining Sanity in the Classroom with Dreikurs and Bronia Grunwald. She worked as a consultant for many Native American educational organizations, including First Nations peoples in Canada.
To access the free article, go to the NASAP Thinkific site - https://nasap.thinkific.com/. If you have made an account in Thinkific already, then log in and you will find the article is featured on the front page. If you are new to Thinkific, the directions for making an account are located on the following NASAP website page - https://www.alfredadler.org/thinkific.
Offer to Donate 44 Years of JIP Journals
Bryna Gamson would generously like to donate her collection of NASAP’s Journal of Individual Psychology from Vol. 38, No. 4 (December 1982) to the present (missing Vol. 68, No. 1, 2012). She is especially hoping a library or professor would like to have them. Contact Bryna at ParentEd@comcast.net.
NASAP Sections Update
Education Section
The NASAP Education Section brings educators together from around the world to learn, connect, and grow through Adlerian principles and collaborative conversations. We meet on the third Thursday of each month from 9:00–10:30 AM Pacific Time, welcoming educators who are passionate about creating classrooms and schools where every learner experiences belonging, encouragement, and mutual respect.
A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful presenters, Dr. Bill Nicoll, Dr. Susan Belangee, Robert Broughton, and Amy Lew, and to everyone who has generously shared their wisdom, research, practical strategies, and lived experience with our community. Your willingness to learn together strengthens us all.
This month, we invite you to pause and reflect: How might one small act of encouragement change the course of a student’s day? Sometimes the most meaningful learning begins with feeling seen, heard, and valued.
If you are an educator, please share these details and encourage others to join the NASAP Education Section as we continue learning from one another and exploring ways to bring encouragement, courage, and connection into our schools and communities .
Family Education Section
The Family Education Section (FES) has always been one of the more active Sections of NASAP. Our members are primarily family and parent educators but also classroom teachers, therapists, coaches, and college professors whose work is rooted in or informed by the basic Adlerian parenting techniques that apply broadly to all human interaction.
Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs, founder of NASAP (and the Alfred Adler Institutes around the world), often made his entry into new communities by introducing Adlerian parent education through lectures, classes, and open forum demonstrations. Family education is a core, fundamental part of NASAP’s DNA.
Over the years, the co-chairs of our FES have found ways for us to connect and support one another during the months between in-person conferences. For years, we published, printed, and snail-mailed newsletters to stay in touch (some now posted to the NASAP website); then leaned into online list-serves; and finally, in this post-COVID period of live video, we meet every month and have real-life friendships and operating support networks.
Since 2020, we were fortunate to have years of service of co-chairs Bob Saxner and Marjie Longshore. Under their leadership, we developed a highly useful “Parent” set of pages on the NASAP website, https://www.alfredadler.org/parent
Because of Marjie’s generous sharing of her Family Leadership Center’s Zoom account, what began as an informal way to connect became monthly hour-long meetings. In those meetings, we have been fulfilling the mission statement adopted in 2004 under PEP founder Linda Jessup’s leadership: We share resources, support one another, and explore and exchange effective methods related to implementing and sustaining family education classes.
In the past few years, we have reviewed videos of Dr. Dreikurs demonstrating, and we have learned about classic open forum techniques; aided by the active participation of member Dr. Amy Lew, co-author and originator of books based on Crucial Cs, we have explored Adlerian insights in our field.
FES leadership created an agenda, inviting members to add to it between the sessions, sharing ideas and suggesting topics. Recently, Rob Guttenberg presented on his current video work posted on a local YouTube channel—a series on “Understanding Yourself and Others”; and Dr. Jerry Hiller described his 35 years and continuing work, in partnership with his wife, in a drop-in center, now virtual, based in Chicago. Jim Skinner responded on our behalf to a request for parent curriculum assistance from a student in Iran who messaged NASAP’s page on LinkedIn. Even just introducing ourselves on the Zoom gives us a glimpse into the breadth of applications of Adlerian family education, like Gredder Rios-Lorenzo’s work with Spanish-speaking deaf individuals.
This is barely the highlights reel!
As FES Secretary, Holly Weaber created a Padlet, https://padlet.com/NASAPFamilyEducationSection/family-education-section-yfk4um5tewsujx2a, to extend our communicating between sessions and conferences. Members from around the world now feel like we know one another.
At the recent 2026 conference, Holly and Hollister Hunt (based in Rwanda) were elected to serve as our co-chairs. Miosotis Cotto and Gredder stepped up to assist as secretary and treasurer.
We are bursting with enthusiasm to ensure that Adlerian parent education will have many contributions developed in time for the October 1 Dallas conference proposal deadline. Among topics our members suggested at the recent meeting: parenting strategies addressing diverse communities, grief and loss, intuition, neurodiversity, autism spectrum, self-image, resilience, bilingual and other practical parenting tools. The group discussed the need to increase parent attendance at conferences, and to align and consolidate proposals to avoid overlap and invite a diverse range of presentations. They also came up with suggestions on varying the opportunities to meet outside a formal conference presentation, at the Dallas conference.
Interested in joining? Email Submission Form
Healing Holistically from the Heart: The Heart Code and Adlerian Psychology
By Dr. Bradley Nelson and Jean Nelson
Adlerian psychology emphasizes a holistic, purpose-driven view of human behavior, helping people recognize their strengths and potential to restore meaning, connection, and purposeful direction in their lives. These same principles guide our work helping people identify and release unseen emotional baggage that can harm their health, relationships, and potential.
At the heart of both Adlerian psychology and our work is the principle of holism. People are integrated beings with our mental, emotional, and physical health deeply intertwined. Emotions are unseen yet powerful forces that shape our thoughts, behaviors, and experiences. They are our body’s response to the world around and within us.
When people experience intense emotions such as grief, fear, shame, or betrayal, these energies may become lodged in the body, damaging their health and relationships long after the events that triggered them have passed. These “trapped emotions,” as we describe them, subtly shape how people perceive the world and themselves. When these emotions are released, people often report feeling like a heavy weight has been lifted, allowing them to embrace life with a renewed sense of joy and freedom.
Adlerian psychology teaches that all behavior is purposeful, even when those purposes are outside conscious awareness. One of the most significant examples we see is what we call the “Heart-Wall”—a subconscious barrier formed during times of emotional distress to shield the heart from further pain. Created by the subconscious as a protective mechanism, Heart-Walls can deepen feelings of loneliness, isolation, and sadness; prevent people from freely giving and receiving love; and sabotage efforts to achieve fulfillment and success.
Our energy-healing practitioners work with clients in person, over the phone, by video-sharing platform, or even via email to help them identify and release trapped emotions and dismantle Heart-Walls. The Adlerian concept of phenomenology—understanding a person’s subjective experience—aligns with our approach, as the way each person experiences and stores emotional energy is shaped by his or her personal history.
We rely on the subconscious mind to help identify and release trapped emotions. This mirrors the Adlerian approach of seeing the world through the client’s perspective and honoring the individual’s internal experience rather than imposing external assumptions.
Alerian psychology also emphasizes soft determinism, the idea that while early experiences influence us, they do not define our future. We have the capacity to choose new paths. We see this capacity each time we help a person release trapped emotions and tear down their Heart-Wall.
Many people carry emotional burdens from childhood or past trauma, often without realizing how these experiences shape their present lives. When these emotional energies are identified and released, people often experience a profound shift. They describe feeling lighter, more open, and more capable of making new choices. Patterns that once felt automatic begin to loosen. This process reflects the Adlerian view that change is always possible. The past may inform us, but it does not confine us.
Finally, both Adlerian psychology and our work highlight the importance of social interest, or a sense of belonging and contribution. Emotional wellbeing largely determines each individual’s ability to connect with others, to give and receive love, and to feel part of a larger community.
The Heart-Wall can interfere significantly with this capacity. Common signs include struggling to trust, communicate openly, or fully engage in relationships. When Heart-Walls are removed, many people report feeling renewed connection with loved ones and their own sense of purpose.
This restoration reflects the essence of social interest. When people open their hearts, they are better able to contribute to others and to experience the fulfillment that comes from meaningful relationships.
In both Adlerian psychology and our work, the ultimate goal is to help people live with greater joy, purpose, and connection. This transformation reflects a shared vision: True well-being comes when people are freed from the weight of their past.
Holistic physician and USA Today bestselling author Bradley Nelson has penned The Emotion Code, The Body Code, and The Heart Code. His wife Jean Nelson is the co-author of The Heart Code and an integral part of the development and sharing of this healing work.
The History of the Adlerian Network
By Susan Pye Brokaw
After I left the Adler Graduate School of Minnesota, where I was a founder and core faculty member, I founded the Adlerian Network in 2016. I did so because I was concerned that although students were well trained in the principles of Adlerian psychology, they struggled with how to apply these principles in their counseling with clients.
The Adlerian Network meets on the first Saturday of each month from 10-12 noon CST on Zoom. We met in person until Covid hit. After transitioning to Zoom, we started attracting people from throughout the United States. We feature presenters who are seasoned Adlerians and who talk about topics involving the application of Adlerian psychology in their work.
A few years ago, we started to offer our brown bag lunch series twice a year in October and April. A speaker gives four presentations on a topic over a four-week period. There is a charge of $40 for the series and all proceeds go to scholarships for individuals who wish to pursue further Adlerian training. Our organization aims to continue with the programs we offer now. We hope we will continue to add attendees who want additional education to enhance their professional skills.
When Care Sounds Like Correction: Practicing Encouragement in Chinese Homes and Classrooms
By Wang Yang
“Are you ready yet? We're going to be late.”
“I can't find my workbook.”
“What were you doing last night? I kept telling you to pack your bag, but you just wouldn't do it.”
“I'm too tired. I don't want to look for it.”
“Go and find it now. You'll be punished again if you're late. I'm only doing this for your own good, but you never listen.”
This is not a carefully reasoned parenting conversation. It is an ordinary morning. time is running out, something is missing, and anxiety fills the room.
The parent is trying to prevent real consequences. The child may be late and face consequences at school; the parent may also be late for work. In that moment, reminders, correction, and urgency feel like responsibility. In many Chinese families, care means anticipating problems: reminding a child what to bring, noticing what remains undone, and pushing the child to improve before consequences become more serious.
The intention is protection. But the child may hear, “You always get things wrong. Without me, you cannot manage yourself.” Even “I'm doing this for your own good” can limit the conversation, because it defines the parent's intention while leaving little room for the child's experience.
Then a familiar cycle begins. The child resists, delays, or answers impatiently to recover some sense of control. The parent sees this as further evidence that the child needs more reminders. The more the parent pushes, the less capable the child feels. The less capable the child appears, the more the parent pushes.
Adlerian psychology helps us see that both parent and child are reaching for belonging and significance. The parent wants to be a responsible caregiver whose guidance protects the child. The child wants to be treated as a person with ideas, dignity, and growing competence. These purposes are not enemies, yet anxiety can make them seem that way.
Encouragement is not simply replacing a harsh sentence with a gentler one. It asks a deeper question: What is my response inviting this child to believe about himself and about our relationship?
In the morning scene, the boundary remains: We must leave on time. But the parent might say, “You can't find it, and we have five minutes. What will you do first? I can help with one step.” Later, when the urgency has passed, they can talk about preparing for the next morning. Responsibility has not disappeared. It has been conveyed, in a manageable form, to the child.
This understanding also shapes how I teach. During a recent sharing activity, several students began speaking at once. Instead of immediately asking for silence, I paused and asked, “What can we do so that we can hear one another?” The students suggested taking turns and listening until each person had finished.
Later, one student began to speak, then stopped. “Mine is the same as hers,” she said. I told her, “You can still share your own thinking. It's okay if it's similar to someone else's.” She thought for a moment and continued.
These are small moments, but their direction matters. My words not only stop or correct behavior. They also invite students to experience themselves as capable members of a group—able to contribute, listen, adjust, and remain included even when uncertain or mistaken.
The hardest part of encouragement is tolerating the adult's anxiety. Correction brings immediate relief: I warned you; I did my duty. Encouragement asks us to support the child's courage even when change is slow and includes setbacks.
This does not mean Chinese parents love their children wrongly. For many, sacrifice, worry, and pointing out problems express care and responsibility. The love need not be rejected, but it may need another way to reach the child. I see your effort. I trust your growing ability. I will stay beside you while you learn.
Perhaps this is the deeper work of encouragement, helping a child believe, “I can learn and find my way. Even when I make mistakes, I do not lose my place in this relationship.” Care then communicates both trust and connection.
Wang Yang is a social-emotional learning teacher working in public schools in Beijing, China and trained in Adlerian psychology.
All in the Family: The Birth of a NASAP Affiliate
This article was featured in Issue 15 of the Family Education Section’s newsletter, FAMILY!, published in April 2006. Contributor John Petersen also served as NASAP’s newsletter editor for several years in the early 2000s. With the recent passing of Tom Petersen, as memorialized at our recent conference, this re-publication is timely.
The Family Tree
The seeds were sown in the summer of 1967 at the University of Illinois where my father, Tom Petersen, pursuing his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Education, was forced to take two psychology courses. Studying education and epistemology, he was certain to avoid the behaviorists who were ubiquitous at the U of I in Champaign/Urbana in the late 1960s. The only non-behaviorist graduate psychology course available to him was taught by visiting professor Rudolf Dreikurs. My father sat in the first class and asked the student next to him if Dreikurs was a behaviorist, to which the student responded, “No. He’s a crazy Viennese psychiatrist!”
At first, my father concurred that Dreikurs’ approach was crazy. But before too long, he went home where my mother, Margaret Petersen, was tending to their first-born infant son and told her about his professor who says you don’t have to yell, threaten, or spank children to discipline them. She went to the class to see for herself. Together, my parents watched Dreikurs counsel a family in front of the class. Dreikurs’ wisdom, respect for children, and compassion for the family won my parents over. My father pursued Adlerian theory through his graduate studies. My mother, an elementary teacher by profession, participated in parent discussion groups and applied the parenting approach at home and in her work.
Continued at this link to read the rest and see an update from July 2026.