This paper examines attributions to the influence of Alfred Adler by primary theorists from contemporary cognitive and cognitive-behavioral theories of personality and psychotherapy. Although Adler’s influence is often not recognized by the mainstream of applied psychologists, a number of leading theorists have acknowledged Adler as a major source of their ideas. Circumstances leading to this discrepancy are examined.

Developmental antecedents of ruminative response style were examined in 137 college freshmen, who were followed prospectively for 2.5 years. Reports of mothers’ and fathers’ psychologically overcontrolling parenting as well as a history of childhood sexual (for women only) and emotional maltreatment were all related to ruminative response style. In addition, ruminative response style mediated the relationships between these developmental factors and the number of major depressive episodes experienced by participants during the follow-up period. Potential explanations and important implications of these findings are discussed.

Approximately 1-2 million Americans are estimated to be infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Peripheral neuropathic pain in ambulatory patients with HIV is prevalent and associated with significant psychological distress, social-vocational impairment and diminished quality of life. Alternatives to analgesics are needed for a variety of reasons including the fact that analgesics alone are not always successful in treating pain and many patients have fears regarding side effects, addiction, and tolerance. Pain Management Training (PMT), a manualized treatment developed by the authors, is designed to target HIV-related peripheral neuropathic pain and its related distressing symptoms. PMT employs a cognitive-behavioral approach to pain and suffering, with the primary goal of increasing the patient’s sense of control and self-efficacy over the pain experience. This purpose of this paper is to describe, in detail, the structure of PMT utilizing patient examples to illustrate the approach.