Paradoxical intention

A short-term technique for phobias and compulsions that cuts the loop between fear and symptom.

Viktor Frankl's framework, from Man's Search for Meaning, pp. 82 to 111.

Spot the anticipatory anxiety
Find the fear that produces the very thing the person dreads, such as the fear of sweating causing sweating.
Invite the opposite wish
Ask the person to intend, even briefly, exactly what they fear, such as pouring ten quarts of sweat or writing the worst scrawl.
Use humour to detach
Self-detachment through laughing at the symptom takes the wind out of the anxiety.
Dereflect toward a purpose
Turn attention away from self and toward a task, a partner or a vocation so the loop does not restart.

From chapter: II, pp. 82–111

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