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patient to change hisIher attitude(s).
From a psychoanalytical point ofview the past ofa person is ignored. Frankl will
take note ofit but it does not play such an important role. It is more directed to the
"now" and the 'future." Instincts, drives and the libido are not taken into account in
.
the therapeutic setting. There are no emphases on sexual impulses (Ross 1992:58).
There are also no investigations into the various stages ofpsychosexual development
(Erikson 1963:273). No questions are asked about fixations, for example, the oral,
anal, and phallic stages. The unconscious levels ofa client/patient does not play an
important role. The fucus ofparadoxical intention is per se not on the person, but on
the problem.
Thismethod is direct and almost confrontational in nature. The cognitive models of
therapy certainly would welcome Frankl's emphasis on the cognitive fimctioning ofa
person (Kendall & Hammen 1995:57-57, 3). Especially Albert Ellis' rational­
emotive therapy (RET) which tries to confront irrational beliefs, is a typical example
ofwhat paradoxical intention as a technique tries to do.
Frankl was not ashamed to acknowledge that instead oflaying down on a sofa "to
just talk" what "comes up", it is rather more important "to sit on a chair and hear the
truth!" Paradoxical intention deals directly with the "thoughts" ofa person. A per­
son is scared (the symptom) because he/she "thinks" «(hisIher thoughts tells him/her
so) that helshe is scared. Inthis sense, thismethod is mejudice closerto the cogni­
tive therapies than to psychoanalytical methods.
The conative aspects ofman are important. The "will" to do and to act is vital.
Helplessness is tackled because the therapist will confront the patient/client to do
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