Paradoxical Interventions in Counseling Psychology

Abstract

This article discusses the use of paradoxical interventions in counseling psychology and surveys the research literature to date. After a description of the historical background of paradoxical interventions, current schools of therapy using paradox are presented, including the psychotherapy of Milton Erickson, the Palo Alto group founded by Gregory Bateson, the Milan School, and the Ackerman Brief Therapy Project. The theoretical and definitional underpinnings of paradoxical interventions are then discussed,"with particular attention paid to the concept of the double bind. A categorization and description of the different paradoxical strategies is described in detail, with guidelines and caveats for the therapeutic management of paradox in counseling. The article concludes with a summary of the research on paradoxical interventions including both case studies and experimental investigations and with recommendations for future research.