“Every memory is a chosen reminder.” – Alfred Adler

Soul Metaphors: The Art of Adlerian Early Memory Interpretation is now available on Amazon. Learn for yourself how to interpret early memories according to Alfred Adler’s previously unpublished technique.

When you think back to your earliest memories, they may seem quite banal—fleeting recollections of sitting on a grandparent’s lap or of playing with a favorite toy. Yet, according to pioneering psychiatrist Alfred Adler, an early memory serves as a metaphor for one’s unique life philosophy.

What can I learn from my earliest memories?

Early memories can reveal many personal insights. To name a few:

  • Your unconscious philosophy about life, your “lifestyle.”
  • Your approach to problem solving.
  • Your approach to conflicts.
  • How you work best with other people.
  • The types of mistakes you tend to make over and over again—and why.
  • Your hidden strengths.

Why It Works

Of the thousands of incidents that happen in early childhood, we recall just a few. We remember these events not because they are trivial or chance but, rather, because they are significant to us. The memories reflect our personal beliefs about the deeper truths of life.

How It Works

Early memory interpretation (EMI) takes approximately one hour. During your EMI session, the consultant will ask you questions about your hobbies, interests, major life decisions, and more. You can answer the questions in any way you wish; there is no delving into your personal life or your “deep dark secrets.” At the end of the session, you and the consultant interpret your memories together to uncover their meaning.

About the Theorist

Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychiatrist and associate of Sigmund Freud, first developed the technique of EMI in the early 20th Century. He used EMI in his practice with his clients as well as in Viennese public schools. He never fully explained his technique in writing, preferring to teach it in person to his colleagues and students.

About the Consultant

In 1993, while living in Austria, Ellen Alderton was analyzed and later trained by a practitioner of Adlerian psychology, Conrad Kaplan. Kaplan had learned Alfred Adler’s unpublished EMI technique from a personal student of Adler, Edith Foster. Ellen was then privileged to spend three days visiting Foster, at that time possibly Adler’s last living pupil. The two women took that opportunity to interpret each other’s memories in the classic Adlerian style. In the subsequent years, Ellen has continued to interpret early memories.