Viktor Frankl’s paradoxical intention

Résumé 0

The paradoxical intention technique, whose main applications include the treatment of anxiety-phobic disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders, was proposed by Viktor Frankl. This technique derives from logotherapy, an existential psychotherapy whose principles Frankl laid down even before undergoing the ordeal of the concentration camps. Logotherapy is based on the consideration of the meaning of life, since for Frankl human beings are always oriented toward the search for meaning, according to the values that guide their choices. Paradoxical intention aims to teach the patient to face their fears by arousing in them the paradoxical desire for fear. This method therefore includes a principle of exposure, but is not reduced to it, and it often results in a spectacular relief of anxiety and incapacitating symptoms. Such paradoxical mentalization is sometimes difficult for the patient, hence the need for a rigorous technique, starting with a precise analysis of symptoms to help bring out the formulas of paradoxical intention. The therapist can rely on the construction of stories, the formation of images, humor, or virtual reality, in order to help the patient to adapt the method. Two case studies allow us to illustrate this process.