While The Telos Project- as a website, platform, and process- is an original idea, it is based on ideas that are not original to The Telos Project or its creators. Listed below are individuals and resources that deserve ample credit for their contributions to this platform.
General Theory:
Alfred Adler: 20th-century physician, psychiatrist, theorist, and teacher.
Virtually every aspect of The Telos Project is based on the theory and practice of Adlerian Psychology, developed by Alfred Adler. Of particular importance to The Telos Project are Adler’s ideas of the fictional finalism or “guiding ideal,” and the process of investigating the lifestyle through 1) family constellation, 2) early recollections, 3) dreams and daydreams, 4) exogenous factors, and 5) inferiorities of childhood.
Learn more about Alfred Adler and Adlerian Psychology (sometimes referred to as “Individual Psychology”) through these resources:
North American Society of Alderian Psychology
International Committee for Adlerian Summer Schools and Institutes (ICASSI)
Books by/about Alfred Adler:
The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler: A Systematic Presentation in Selections from His Writings
Social Interest: A Challenge to Mankind
Initial Exercise Design:
Paul Rasmussen, PhD- Staff Psychologist at the W. J. Dorn VA Medical Center, Columbia, SC; Faculty Member, ICASSI Summer Schools
Much of the design of all five initial exercises are based on a workshop taught by Dr. Rasmussen entitled The Broad Stroke Approach to Early Recollections. Specifically, Dr. Rasmussen’s attention to the “most vivid element” and focus on the emotional content of experience were of great help.
Books/articles by Dr. Rasmussen:
Adaptive Reorientation Therapy: An Adlerian-Based Model of Psychological Treatment
Wes Wingett, PhD- Counselor (private practice), Counselor Educator; Norfolk, NE
Dr. Wingett is responsible for the use of the “precise opposite emotion” questions that are used throughout all five initial exercises. To the best of our recollection, we first encountered Dr. Wingett’s use of this strategy during a 2016 workshop at the South Carolina Society for Adlerian Psychology Annual conference entitled Adlerian Strategies for Understanding: Play, Place, and Priorities.
Rudolf Dreikurs (1897-1972) – Student and colleague of Alfred Adler, Psychiatrist, Educator
In addition to Dreikurs’ significant contributions to the tactics of lifestyle investigation (the process that underlies the five initial exercises), he identified Four Purposes of Misbehavior that form the basis for one specific question in the Family Constellation exercise. Dreikurs offers details about these Four Purposes in his book:
Frank Walton, PhD- Therapist, Counselor Educator, Author; Chapin, SC
Dr. Walton has made innumerable contributions to the development of lifestyle investigation strategies that form the basis for the five initial exercises, but of particular importance is his development of the Most Memorable Observation technique that is used in the Family Constellation Exercise. Dr. Walton’s initial publication of this technique can be accessed in this article:
Use of the Most Memorable Observation as a Technique for Understanding Choice of Parenting Style
Other notable influences:
While the individuals listed above have had very specific influences on the development of The Telos Project, many others have aided in general training and theoretical development that warrant ample credit:
Marina Bluvshtein, PhD
Gary Bauman, PhD
Susan Belangee, PhD
John Arnold, PhD
Mel Markowski, PhD
James Bitter, EdD
Jon Sperry, PhD