ABSTRACT
A paradox is an apparent contradiction, something which seems to be false but which is true. The Bible is filled with many paradoxes, such as 'It is in giving that we receive', 'The first shall be last, the last shall be first' and 'In order to gain life we must lose it.' In therapy, paradoxical techniques have been used with such problems as anorexia, dizziness, encopresis, hysterical blindness, chronic pain, phobias, sexual problems and sleep disorders. In other theories paradox is given various names, such as antisuggestion, joining the resistance, supporting the defences, outcrazying the patient, implosion, flooding, paradoxical intention, restraining and predicting. The pay off vanishes, the person very often feels a greater sense of conscious control over their previously habitual behaviour and, most importantly, as in all uses of paradoxical actions, no harm is done to self or others. Acute crises are not occasions for implementing paradoxical techniques.
