Achi Yotam was born in Israel in 1932. In 1959, when Dreikurs came to Israel for the first time, Achi was a social worker working for the city of Tel Aviv. Dreikurs gathered around him a group of Psychologists and Social workers and taught them Individual Psychology. Achi joined. Very soon, Dreikurs noticed Achi’s outstanding charisma and talent. Dreikurs invited Achi to the Adler School in Chicago to study there for his M.A. Achi did.
When he came back to Israel, he continued studying with Dreikurs, who kept coming to Israel to teach the group. In 1963, the Alfred Adler Institute was founded. Achi was one of the founders. Eventually, he became the central figure of the institute. For over 40 years, he taught parent education, lifestyle analysis, and more, but the “crown” was a course called “Fundamentals of Adlerian Psychology,” where he had about a hundred listeners each year. In 1968, Dreikurs invited Achi to be a co-chairperson of ICASSI. ln addition to teaching at ICASSI, Achi remained a co-chair till the end of his life in 2004. He worked together with the other two chairpersons, mainly with Prof. Eva Dreikurs Ferguson. They worked hard all year to make ICASSI happen. Achi’s courses at ICASSI were always overbooked. Through ICASSI, he helps spread individual psychology in many countries worldwide.
Achi used to work from morning till night—serving the municipality of Tel Aviv in the morning, teaching courses at the institute in the afternoon, and conducting open forum sessions in the evening. In summary, the five departments of the Adler Institute of Tel Aviv today exist and flourish partly because of Achi’s teaching.
Achi always intended to write some of his teachings, but he died early due to complications following a heart transplant. Luckily, some listeners recorded his lecture courses. A book that integrates three of Achi’s courses was edited. The book Understanding Yourself, Understanding Your Family, Understanding Your Children can be purchased at the Israel Adler Institute by contacting dorit@m-adler.com.
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Dr. Zivit Abramson contributed this biographical entry.