DEFINITION OF TERMS -still under construction
1. Miraculous or Just Amazing
2. Paradox Psychology
3. Paradoxical Interventions
4. Treatment-resistant Client
5. Orbits-Gravity Theory
6. Concept of ‘Change’
7. Attachment Trauma
8. Therapeutic Alliance
9. Win-Win Double Binds
10. Humor
1. Miraculous or Just Amazing
Paradoxical Interventions were first documented by Alfred Adler, a disciple of Freud, in the 1920’s. The method was known for avoiding ‘power struggles’, and promoting rapid change. Of particular interest is that change occurs without the client being convinced, instructed, or rewarded. The paradox of treatment is that while the clinician functions as a‘catalyst’ for influencing change, shifts in behavior occur of the client’s own free-will.
‘Master therapists’ from the 1940’s through the 1980’s (ie: Milton Erikson, Victor Frankl, Jay Haley, Salvador Menuchin, Fritz Perls, and others) where all known to utilize the approach with “miraculous and amazing results”.
Although quite effective in addressing treatment-resistance, the method seemed to defy rational logic. As a result, a sense of mystery has always surrounded the approach, as interventions tend to be counter-intuitive and lack face validity. More recently, with the new emphasis on “evidence based treatment” and without the benefit of ‘old-style’ master therapists, new clinicians are not often exposed to the excitement and energy of this process.
Sometimes clinicians discount or minimize the method as ‘reverse psychology’ and question whether treatment may‘backfire.’ This is because interventions may appear chaotic and may include unexpected ‘high energy’. This can be unsettling for clinicians who want to feel in control of the treatment outcome. Those who rely on a linear framework for change have trouble ‘making sense’ of what is happening since their expectation is that growth and change occur in a slow ‘step-by-step’ fashion. It is hard for them to conceive and accept that a long history of problematic behaviors can dramatically shift within a few sessions.
The main ‘stumbling block’ for the paradoxical method has been the fact that it has remained theoretically undefined.However, this work will reveal the secrets of this highly effective approach. As such, we will debunk ‘conventional wisdom’ that assumes 1) long-term change requires months and years of ‘hard work’, and 2) that successful outcome relies on the client’s willingness to ‘cooperate and participate’.
Clinicians who received their training in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s may recall the live excitement of paradoxical interventions. While there is little mention of the process today, NLP and DBT training do include aspects that are clearly paradoxical in nature. Often these aspects are noted for providing ‘humor to the treatment setting’. In addition, many clinicians will use the method as “the treatment of last resort” for resistant clients who are not responding to other forms of therapy.
Many attempts to explain the method using linear logic have been unsuccessful. However by incorporating the scientifically respected orbits-gravity based model, it becomes possible to gain clarity in understanding its direction and intention. It is through this model that clinicians gain a framework to explore the true depth of this ‘miraculous and amazing’ approach.
2. Paradox Psychology:
Paradox Psychology recognizes that the essence of human experience and existence is ‘paradoxical’ in nature. This nature leaves man in a constant struggle to balance opposite extremes. That is to say: He is an physical being, yet issuperior to all creatures; He lives in an animal body, yet walks upright; His DNA is programmed to act on instinct, yet he insists on expressing ‘free will’ …
Currently psychology devides personality functioning into separate aspects of behavior, emotions, and thought. However, intuitively we understand that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’
Paradox psychology incorporates a theoretical paradigm that conceptualizes the ‘personality system as a whole’. This is best expressed by an orbits-gravity model. Through this model we are able to address exponential change as a function of a unified personality system.
The approach represents the logical extension of ‘Attachment Theory’. As such paradox psychology focuses on the nuances and importance of ‘attachment’ as the primary factor of personality development.
Unlike other approaches that focus on external aspects of behavior, paradox theory addresses ‘abandonment / attachment trauma’ as the key issue for rigid behavior and disruptive personality functioning. The intention of treatment is therefore to sooth and provide relief for underlying abandonment trauma. This is accomplished through the constant development and improvement of the ‘therapuetic alliance’. It is the unconditional nature of the therapeutic alliance that provides a deep sense of relief and relaxation to unconscious aspects of trauma. When the client experiences relief to underlying trauma, the ‘process of change’ unfolds in an organic and ‘effortless’ fashionwithout forethought or planning. As a result, shifts in behavior and attitude often seem to occur in a ‘rapid and amazing’ manner.
A major advance of paradox psychology is that it is able to encompass behavioral, cognitive, and psychodynamic approaches under one single umbrella theory. Through this encompassing view, the model brings a new sense of clarity and focus to a wide range of theoretical and treatment issues.
3. Paradoxical Interventions:
The paradoxical approach is particularly suited for working with treatment-resistance. The mark of the intervention is that it avoids ‘power struggles’ while simultaneously working to strengthen the ‘therapeutic alliance.’ By sidestepping power struggles the method literally bypasses client attempts to avoid and resist treatment.
The approach recognizes that treatment resistance is based on a ‘lack of trust’ directly related to abandonment trauma. The function of treatment is to rehabilitate the client’s ability to trust. This is accomplished by soothing the depth of abandonment trauma -that may be outside the client’s awareness. In providing relief, treatment serves torelax his habitual defensive posturing. As the client’s experience of trust increases, he is able to voluntarily ‘let down’his guard. Within this process, he simultaneously releases rigid and disruptive patterns of behavior.
The paradoxical method is interesting in that the road toward the relief of abandonment trauma takes an unexpected and counter-intuitive twist. This twist is seen through paradoxical interventions and techniques that ‘attach and bond’ over the exact behavior that treatment often seeks to extinguish! As a result, interventions often instruct the client to continue and exaggerate specific aspects of destructive behavior.
On the surface such an instruction seems to make no logical sense! What have we accomplished by instructing the client to continue his destructive pattern?! The answer to this highlights the amazing impact of the therapeutic alliance.
Through structuring an alliance around a given behavior the intervention appears to target that behavior. However this only represents the surface or minor aspect of the intervention. On a deeper and more important level, the actual‘active ingredient’ is the impact the alliance has on undermining abandonment trauma. In real-time the intervention effortlessly dismisses and unravels the client’s status-quo experience of isolation and aloneness.
The result is that the client becomes hyper-aware of habitual behavior and responses as it relates to other people. Simultaneously, the intervention raises the client’s awareness that other people are also ‘witnesses’ to his habitual behavior patterns. On numerous levels the intervention ‘floods’ the client in a non-threatening manner as to his intrinsic connection to other people. In so doing it unravels his normal perception of leading a life ‘separate and abandoned’ from others. As a result, the intervention often triggers an ‘existential reorganization’ in which a change occurs in the client’s status-quo experience of self in relation to others.
In rapid and unexpected fashion the intervention turns the client’s world upside down. Due to this new perceptual shift an reorganization, old habitual reactions effortlessly evaporate and disappear as they are no longer relevant to the client’s new experience of self.
As such, there is an underestimated depth to paradoxical interventions that simultaneously ‘attach’ to different aspects and levels. In unexpected fashion, the method attaches in a broad manner regarding repetitive behavioral, cognitive, and emotional personality aspects . In addition the approach often conveys conflicting messages The paradoxical approach is able to address all these aspects at once. , the paradoxocal method is able to address these levels simultaneously. accentuate the exact behavior that treatment seeks to extinguish! Interestingly, the method addresses the client on two parallel levels simultaneously. On one level, the ‘surface level’, the method seems to be squarely addressing ways for the client to continue ‘rigid’ or disruptive behavior.
However, on another level, an ‘unspoken’ and deeper’ level, the action of ‘prescibing the symptom’ promotes the clinician to the level of a ‘partner’ in the client’s behavior. It is this action of becoming a partner that the clinician strikes a deeper cord through developing a ‘therapeutic alliance.’ It is the ‘unspoken’ aspect of this alliance that impacts the client on a more profound level than the ‘surface talk’ regarding a given identified behavior. By strenghtening the therapeutic alliance, the clinician sooths and provides relief to the underlying abandonment trauma that is fueling the rigid behavior. In paradoxical fashion, by reducing underliying trauma, the client is able to gain a sense of relaxation. This sense of relaxation allows him to organically move to a position that supports him in making a ‘free will choice’ to backout of the ‘surface’ rigid pattern.
The paradoxical approach recognizes that attachment trauma is the central issue for the full spectrum rigid dysfunctional behaviors. In th process of soothing and providing relief to unresolved attachment trauma the method focuses exclusively on strenghtening the therapeutic alliance.
The approach is theoretically supported by the science and non-linear logic of ‘orbits-gravity’ phenomena. In the context of treatment, ‘gravity’ is equivalent to the client’s experience of the therapeutic alliance. The basic premise in paradoxical interventions is that by strengthening ‘gravity’ (therapeutic alliance), it is possible to influenceexponential change in rigid ‘orbits’ of behavior. These orbits represent varied types of repetitive and dysfunctionalbehavioral, cognitive, and emotional functioning.
4. Treatment–resistant client:
The treatment-resistant client is the person who has no conscious desire, intent, or motivation to change his behavior. This client may be unconscious or unaware of the destructiveness of his actions. The treatment-resistant client is invested in maintaining the status-quo equilibrium of his personality structure. His immediate desire is to perpetuate his familiar identity and sense of self.
In general, the ‘conventional wisdom’ is that for change to occur in the resistant client, it is likely to be a long and drawn out process that will take many months or years. In addition it is assumed that for treatment to work the client must be willing to ‘cooperate’ or ’participate’ at some minimum level. Within conventional wisdom, the clinician essentially hopes that the client will agree to be less resistant!.
The power of paradoxical interventions is that it does NOT need or expect the client’s ‘good will’ or conscious cooperation for the intervention to be effective.
4. Orbits-Gravity Theory:
The orbits-gravity model is a non-linear paradigm that is the central to all modern scientificthought today. While this model has been prevalent in the sciences of astronomy, astro-physics, biology, chemistry, and quantum physics, it is essentially unknown in psychology. Current theories in psychology are based on linear ‘step-by-step’ logic that support a splintered approach in addressing separate aspects of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional functioning.
Within an orbits-gravity model, ‘orbits’ represent repetitive patterns of behavior / energy that are easily observed. ‘Gravity’ represents the central force that maintains the frequency, rate, and range of the orbits. Although gravity dominates the orbits, its steady and ongoing force acts in a quiet and unseen manner. While we are able to describe the separate nature of orbits and gravity, in reality they function together as an inseparable and single system. Within this model, a shift in gravity will have an exponential and spontaneous impact on the system’s orbits.
In brief, paradox psychology recognizes that the ‘human system’ and existence is based on repetitive patterns or ‘orbits’. These patterns occur in relation to internal physiological / biological functioning, social functioning, and psychological (behavioral, cognitive, emotional) functioning. As will be discussed, ‘gravity’ parallels the person’s underlying experience of ‘attachment’. Attachment is initially experienced and ‘normalized’ through the parent-child bond. A healthy parent-child bond supports orbits of behavior that are flexible and promote ‘free will choices’. However when there is severe disruption to the parent-child bond this leads ‘traumatized attachment’. Traumatized attachment can be observed in behaviors that are constricted, rigid, and defined by compulsion and habit. Paradox psychology recognizes that by healing traumatized attachment within the contect of the ‘therapeutic alliance’ it is possble to impact and move rigid orbits toward flexibility.
5. Concept of ‘Change’:
Defining the concept of ‘change’ has remained an unsolved mystery in the field of psychology. Is it behavioral? cognitive? or emotional?! Most people will say that they “know it when they see it!” However an encompassing model has been ellusive.
The orbits-gravity paradigm is able to offer a concise and encompassing model for change that is equally inclusive of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional energies. Within this model ‘orbits’ represent the repetitive aspects of behavior / energy. When the status-quo cyclical pattern (orbit) shifts from either a ‘rigid energy state —> flexible state’, or a ‘flexible state —> rigid state’ this is indicative of ‘change’.
In general, the intent of treatment is to influence a client from a ‘rigid energy state —> flexible state’.Within this model, “rigid” energy is associated with limited and strongly predictable patterns. This is demonstrated by the constricted nature of individual’s ability to make choices. Severly rigid patterns are noted in addictions, mental health disorders, repetitive criminal behavior, and couple / family conflict. The intent of treatment is to facilitate movement from rigid energy patterns to more flexible, relaxed, and expansive orbital states.
The Process of Change - In addition the model indicates in paradoxical fashion that for true change to occur, treatmentdoes not focus directly on the ‘rigid orbit’ as one would likely expect. Rather the focus of treatment is on the force that keeps the orbital cycle intact; the “gravity.” From a treatment perspective, this force of gravity is equivalent to the“therapeutic alliance.” By shifting the gravity / therapeutic alliance of a system, rigid energy orbits will spontaneously shift. This is particularly important when working with the ‘treatment-resistent’ client. When a shift in the therapeutic alliance is “imposed”,shifts in behavior / energy will occur without convincing, coersion, or struggle. In amazing fashion, imposition of the therapeutic alliance will result in the treatment-resistant client shifting rigid patterns of behavior through his own ‘free will’.
6.Therapeutic Alliance
7. Win-Win Double Binds
8. Humor
www.ParadoxPsychology.com EPK Revised: 8-7-11
The approach is theoretically supported by the science and logic of ‘orbits-gravity’ phenomena. In paradoxical fashion, although gravity is unseen, it dominates the system. In this model, ‘orbits’ can be viewed as repetitive behavior or energy; and ‘gravity’ is the central force of ‘attachment’. Just as the ‘orbits-gravity system’ functions as a whole, so too the unified functioning of ‘repetitive behavior-attachment’ is equivalent to the personality system.
In the context of treatment, the client’s experience of ‘attachment’ is equivalent to the therapeutic alliance. The basic premise in paradoxical interventions is that by strengthening ‘gravity’ (therapeutic alliance), it is possible to shift the equilibrium and structure of the client’s ‘personality system.’ This in turn influences spontaneous change in the flexibility of rigid energy orbits. These orbits include repetitive and dysfunctional aspects of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional functioning.
The approach represents the logical extension of ‘attachment theory’. As a result treatment interventions and techniques often seem counter-intuitive, as the client is often asked to highlight and accentuate the exact behavior that treatment seeks to extinguish! Interestingly, the method addresses the client on two parallel levels simultaneously. On one level, the ‘surface level’, the method seems to be squarely addressing ways for the client to continue ‘rigid’ or disruptive behavior.
However, on another level, an ‘unspoken’ and deeper’ level, the action of ‘prescibing the symptom’ promotes the clinician to the level of a ‘partner’ in the client’s behavior. It is this action of becoming a partner that the clinician strikes a deeper cord through developing a ‘therapeutic alliance.’ It is the ‘unspoken’ aspect of this alliance that impacts the client on a more profound level than the ‘surface talk’ regarding a given identified behavior. By strenghtening the therapeutic alliance, the clinician sooths and provides relief to the underlying abandonment trauma that is fueling the rigid behavior. In paradoxical fashion, by reducing underliying trauma, the client is able to gain a sense of relaxation. This sense of relaxation allows him to organically move to a position that supports him in making a ‘free will choice’ to backout of the ‘surface’ rigid pattern.