The Theory Of Paradoxical Change

Video: The Theory Of Paradoxical Change

Video: The Theory Of Paradoxical Change
Video: The Paradoxical Theory of Change 2024, May
The Theory Of Paradoxical Change
The Theory Of Paradoxical Change
Anonim

The paradoxical theory of change was developed by the American psychiatrist Arnold Beisser. He not only proposed a theoretical concept, but throughout his life showed how changes take place. At the age of 25, an athletic man contracted polio and became paralyzed. All his attempts to resist the physical ailment, to deny it, or to return to his old life in any way have failed. Changes in life began to occur only with the acceptance of the situation that had arisen.

So what is the paradoxical theory of change? The idea of the concept is as follows - changes occur only when a person becomes who he is, and not when he tries to become what he is not.

It is impossible to deceive this theory, you cannot just say to yourself: "Yes, yes, yes, I accept myself and my shortcomings, I can be really hot-tempered." In this case, changes will not occur, the person will remain impulsive. You need to really accept yourself and admit: “Yes, I am hot-tempered and will be annoyed as much as I need. I have such a psyche, so others should forgive me. I will warn my friends and acquaintances that sometimes my reaction will be negative and unpredictable - "I am such a person and I can not do anything about it, forgive me!"

It is at the very moment when a person recognizes and accepts his shortcomings and character traits that changes will begin. This is the paradox - in order to change something, you need to accept what is now. In addition, it is important to understand well what cannot be changed in life.

A rather interesting experiment is being carried out in the “Navy Seals” unit - the hands and feet of the military are tied up and thrown into a pool three meters deep. The winner will only be the one who resigns himself and will not resist - this behavior will allow him to calmly sink to the bottom and rise up for air.

In general, the concept of paradoxical change is very important in psychology, as clients seeking psychological help crave quick and tangible results. And if the psychologist is involved in this task, real change does not occur. The psychotherapist needs to remain in the situation by himself, helping the client to expand and understand his process more and not trying to change it.

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