• Counter-Intuitive

• Bypasses Treatment Resistance

• Access ‘Infinite Potential’ over Finite Behavior

• Based on the work of: Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls, Milton Erickson, & Bugs Bunny

Paradox interventions (pdxi) is an ‘attachment based’ therapy. What makes it different and unique is that we don’t just talk ‘about’ attachment, the therapy is ATTACHMENT. As it turns out, man’s very existence is a paradox; We are finite beings with infinite potential. The physical body & behavior are finite. But man’s true gift is his innate infinite potential to transcend his course physical reality and connect beyond self.

This means that the process of change can happen in 2 distinct ways; 1) influencing the finite body or 2) tapping into a person’s innate infinite self to reach beyond the status-quo. Most therapies get hung up in the struggle to change the client’s ‘finite’ behavioral, cognitive, & emotional limits.

In pdxi the need to address finite behavior is secondary. The primary goal of pdxi is on strengthening the alliance / attachment by developing and building trust since this is the express route to accessing the client’s infinite potential. By offering counter-intuitive re-frames and new perspectives, we undermine old defenses and habits. As a result (as strange as it may sound), this allows for spontaneous & effortless change to happen.

The historical focus of treatment has always assumed that changing behavior and thoughts was the main goal of therapy. But this is slow and time consuming. Pdxi introduces a dynamic new world that capitalizes on man’s innate potential for rapid & exponential growth. Fasten your seat belts!

At first glance most people see pdxi as complicated. However, once you get the madness behind the method, it becomes unexpectedly easy and simple. However, there is no therapy more exciting to watch or do!

At the same time, pdxi can feel DANGEROUS! This is because unlike other therapies where only the client is expected to change, in a good pdxi intervention the therapist & client are often touched by the depth of the process, which therefore often leads to growth of both people through the encounter.

Controversial Reputation: When Alfred Adler first wrote about the method in the 1920’s the idea and importance of attachment was not yet known. Although quite effective, no one could explain why or how it worked. It seemed to be an unsolvable mystery. Without a clear understanding of what was happening experienced therapists tended to shy away, and used the method only as a ‘last resort’. However, Dr. Kaplan has cracked the code.

The method is counter-intuitive and takes a little adjustment to get used to. So for a simple example, let’s say we have a client who suffers from panic attacks. If we see that other traditional therapies are having no effect, we might then consider a paradoxical approach. In pdxi we might plan with this client ‘where, when, and with who’ he will experience his next ‘spontaneous’ panic attack. However, the act of ‘planning the event’ inevitably makes it less likely for a full blown panic attack to occur.

The absurdity and (seemingly) bizarre nature of pdxi allows it to disarm the client’s logical attempts to ‘figure it out’. In addition, the method’s unexpected twists & turns rattle basic assumptions of conventional wisdom and the need to dwell on working through resistance.

In response to those who downplay pdxi as “nothing more than reverse psychology”, they should be aware that this is futile attempt by their logical mind to explain pdxi within a paradigm they are already familiar - where change is defined through focusing on physical & finite behavior. Of course, you are welcome to continue down this path, but eventually you will find it is ‘like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole’ (It doesn’t fit…)

The simplicity of the approach makes it come off as lightweight in a way that one my underestimate it’s effect. But in fact, it has a profound impact on reaching and resolving deep abandonment trauma.

Question: What time is it when therapy combines Carl Rogers with Bugs Bunny? Answer: Time for Freud to turn over…

The method draws on Client-Centered (Carl Rogers) and Gestalt (Fritz Perls) therapies. However, pdxi goes one step further. It harnesses the absurdity of perpetuating the need to repeat defeating patterns. With Bugs Bunny antics & humor we rattle stuck behavior, emotions, and thoughts in a way that provides a new and often unexpected outlook and perspective.

Humor breaks barriers. It is the method’s secret weapon for dissolving stuck habits and patterns. In freeing up blocked energy, the process of change occurs through the surrender of tension release and letting go. This allows for new expressions of energy to spontaneously unfold.

The pdxi techniques include: ‘joining the resistance’, ‘prescribing the symptom’ and ‘positive re-framing’. 

In the 1960’s and ‘70’s pdxi was utilized by master therapists - Milton Erickson, Victor Frankl, Salvador Minuchin, Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir and others. However back then, the process was considered an unexplainable mystery. However, Dr. Eliot P. Kaplan has ‘cracked the code’ to explain and organize this powerful process.

Through warmth, empathy, genuineness, and gentle humor pdxi is able to disarm resistance around many ‘hard to treat’ disorders. It is effective with the Borderline personality, OCD, ODD, and Eating Disorders, to name a few. The approach is successful with people stuck in various repetitive type patterns: addictive disorders, mental health issues, repetitive criminal behavior, and couple / family conflict.