Adlerian work / ADL-A11-3
Acting As If Experiment — Clinician dialogue
Guide a collaborative conversation about acting as if experiment while checking fit and participant choice.
15 minutes · Clinician script · Mental health professionals
Fictional example: Morgan imagines that a question can show interest rather than incompetence.
Use within your training and assessment of readiness. A tentative new stance can be tested in a reversible action.
Invite and obtain permission
Offer: "Would it be useful to explore acting as if experiment using an ordinary or fictional example? We can adapt it, observe, or stop." Ask what the person wants from the conversation.
Elicit before teaching
Ask: "How does this show up, if at all, in your own words?" Offer this idea tentatively: A tentative new stance can be tested in a reversible action. Ask what fits and what does not.
Guide the task
Choose one small action you might take if a more flexible belief were partly true; predict a realistic obstacle. Ask for permission before giving an example. Use this fictional illustration if useful: Morgan imagines that a question can show interest rather than incompetence.
Reflect and check accuracy
Reflect only what was offered: "I heard you describe ___. What did I miss?" Ask: What small action would test this belief without pretending certainty? Avoid assigning motives or interpreting silence as agreement.
Respond to a mismatch
If the person rejects the frame, say: "Thank you for correcting it. What would be more useful?" Return to their language or choose a different approach.
Close with agency
Ask which observation, question, or support request the person wants to keep. Confirm a manageable ending and appropriate follow-up; do not turn a tentative possibility into a homework obligation.
Prompts for this resource
- Readiness, permission, cultural context, and access needs to check:
- What small action would test this belief without pretending certainty?
- What would tell me to adapt, stop, or seek supervision?
Conceptual background
Alfred Adler: Theory and Application — Adler Graduate School
Background on the approach only. Original exercises and wording are by More Than Therapy with AI assistance; the source does not validate or endorse these materials.