ABSTRACT
The paradoxical theory of change states that, ‘change occurs when one becomes what he is, not when he tries to become what he is not’. It goes on to state that ‘one must first fully experience what one is before recognising all the alternatives of what may be’. Arnold Beisser, a US tennis player, was paralysed at the age of 32. Following a period of depression Beisser grew to accept his new life and developed The Paradoxical Theory of Change, that had emerged from his personal journey. Apparently, prior to his paralysis Beisser did not consider himself to be a particularly likeable man. His self-perception probably wasn’t shared by those around him judging from the number of people that maintained close contact with him. If therapists concentrate on restoring what they decide to be health, they run the risk of depriving the client of the opportunity to live out the life change and to adapt to that life change creatively.
