Adlerian work / ADL-A14-1
Cooperation over Winning — Concept brief
Understand the idea behind cooperation over winning and consider whether it fits your context.
8 minutes · Handout · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Morgan and a housemate want different cleaning schedules.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Relational goals can shift from ranking to workable cooperation.
The idea
Relational goals can shift from ranking to workable cooperation.
An ordinary example
Morgan and a housemate want different cleaning schedules.
What this can look like
Rewrite a minor disagreement as a shared task, preserving each person's right to disagree.
Check the fit
What would cooperation look like without either person surrendering every preference? You may disagree with the framing, use fiction, or decide that this approach is not useful today.
A useful distinction
Encouragement is not reassurance that everything will work out, and contribution does not determine human worth.
Prompts for this resource
- What part of this idea makes sense to me?
- What would cooperation look like without either person surrendering every preference?
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.