When you compare and contrast the theories of Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Karen Horney and Erik Erikson with the theories of Freud, you will see that their theoretical perspectives, major concepts and approaches to theory have a little bit of the same views and some very different views from each other.
Carl Jung's method in psychotherapy is similar to Freud's. In some rare cases, if the Freudian approach is not acceptable, Jung would implement an equivalent method that would guide the patient to a personal dispute with the archetypes within the collective unconscious(Burger, Ch5, pg101). This dispute aims at the consumption of archetypal images; the individuation process leads to the awareness of the psychic wholeness made in conjunction with the conscious and unconscious. The conscious mind needs to include archetypal materials of the basics of completeness.
Jung’s own experiences with schizophrenic people has built up his idea of the collective unconscious. He initially followed the Freudian theory of the unconscious forming wishes that were suppressed and later refined his own theory on the unconscious, the most important part being the archetype.
Archetypes make up the structure of the collective unconscious; they are psychic intrinsic dispositions that lead to knowledge and represent human behavior and certain positions (Burger, Ch5, pg102). Things like mysterious and religious involvements, power and failure, and also birth and death are controlled by archetypes. Self is the most important archetype of all; it is the center of the psychic person, the wholeness. It is made up of the unity of both the conscious and unconscious through the individuation process.
This archetype concept that Jung writes about comes from the replicate observation that myths and common literature that contains well specified themes that appear all the time and everywhere. These themes are representations of archetypes and are often in our thoughts, illusions, fantasies, and dreams. Archetypes images manifest themselves through our visions and dreams; they do not have a specific shape. They might resemble our instincts, but until they manifest in our intentions or actions, they cannot be recognized.
Jung said that religious experience is linked with the archetypes of the collective unconscious. The collective unconscious means that human beings are provided with a psychic archetype layer within themselves since birth; it cannot be acquired through education or any other conscious effort, it is a comprehensive reference to human knowledge (Burger, Ch5, pg101).
Alfred Adler was a world renowned psychiatrist and philosopher who stressed the desire to comprehend individuals within their social background. Alder addressed crucial and contemporary issues such as parental education, equality, lifestyle, the holiness of individuals, and the influence of birthing order. He believed that we all have one main goal and desire which is to belong to something and feel important.
Alders’ theory says that when we feel inspired, we feel proficient and thankful and will be cooperative and feel connected. When we are discouraged, we might act sickly by completely withdrawing and give up. We find ways to express and accept encouragement and find social interest that help us feel encouraged and satisfied.
His practice and theory shown to be very productive when applied towards the growth and development of children(Burger, Ch5, pg98). Those who follow him believe that a child that misbehaves is a depressed child. Helping a child feel appreciated, competent and important is a very efficient way of coping with problematic child behavior.
The Adlerian psychology centers on ones effort to satisfy for their self-seen inadequacy to others. These feelings of inadequacy may come from one’s views in the family prospective, especially if experiences of embarrassment occurred early in life; or a if there is some kind of physical defect or condition that exists.
Adlerian’s concern themselves with the unique understanding of private beliefs and strategies in one’s lifestyle that is created throughout childhood. Understanding this lifestyle serves as a reference for each individual’s behavior, attitude, and private view of themselves and the world around them (Burger, Ch5, pg99). If we look at our childhood experiences, we can examine the patterns and methods of behavior that may repeat itself and try to gain some kind of meaning and acceptance to heal and grow so change can occur.
Karen Horney’s theory was related to her personal life and showed how she dealt with her problems. Her ideas of psychoanalysis and neurosis are associated with inner conflicts and viewed as one of the best theories in her area (Burger, Ch5, pg111). According to Horney, neurosis is how people manage control over their interpersonal issues on a daily basis. Another one of her theories that she talks about is the idea of personality in conjunction with psychoanalysis; her theories on this are looked at more in-depth to show how much she disagreed with Freud.
Neurosis is a somewhat mild, personality disorder that is represented by excessive anxiety or uncertainty and an amount of social or interpersonal mental illness (Dictionary). It is described as an individual that has trouble managing certain circumstantial stressors that result in problems within themselves.
Horney believed that neurotic attitudes and feelings are driven by the way you live; it cannot be diagnosed without looking at one’s cultural background. Horney feels that Freud ignored the cultural factors that can lead to false acquisitions; it can also disrupt the understanding of what drives our attitudes and actions.
Horney believes a neurotic is someone who is driven by their emotions and the things that happen within their lives; Freud suggests that their real self is driven by their concept of ego. Horney thinks that Freudian’s theory about fixed obsessions on sex interfere with someone and their family, attitudes and values. Freud believes they are sexual impulses from nature that every human being has. The emphasis of this is that a neurotic should be aware of their surroundings and their inner-self and know who they are.
Erik Erikson discusses his ideas and views on psychosocial stages; Freud ideas about structure and the topography of personality influenced him greatly. Erikson was an ego psychologist, his emphasis is on the aspect of culture and how the struggle in society can take part within the ego itself, whereas Freud was an id psychologist and emphasized on the struggle between the id and the superego.
Erikson says the ego develops as it fixes its crises that clearly social in nature. This involves being able to build a sense of trust in others, developing a sense of identity in the community, and allowing the next generation to get ready for the future.
Erikson broadens the view on Freudian thoughts by concentrating on the adaptive and innovative characteristic of the ego, and to broaden the belief of the stages of personality development so it includes the whole lifespan (Burger, Ch5, pg106).
Erikson took the five stages and proposed a lifespan model of development up through the age of 18 and extended it by three stages beyond that up through adulthood (Burger, Ch5, pg107). He suggests that there is still a lot of room to continue one’s growth and development throughout their life. There was also a great deal of emphasis on the pubescent period because it is an important stage for developing one’s identity.
Along with Freud and many others, the belief is that personality develops in a fixed order and builds upon the previous stage. The conclusion to this developmental timetable is a wide and unified group of life skills and capabilities that function together within the independent individual. However, instead of concentrating on sexual development like Freud, he was concerned in how children socialize and how it might affect their sense of self.

References:
Burger, J. M. (2011). Personality, Eighth Edition. Mason: Cengage Learning. Retrieved from: http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/cengage/2010/personality_ebook_8e.php