Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-mx8w7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-09-01T15:33:31.132Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Paradoxical Intention and Anti-Exposure in a Non-Compliant, Obsessive–Compulsive Ritualiser

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Gwen Adshead ,
Lynne M. Drummond  and
Shirley Mercer
Gwen Adshead
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital, London
Lynne M. Drummond
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital, London
Shirley Mercer
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital, London
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A woman with persistent obsessive-compulsive rituals showed limited improvement with exposure therapy, because of her refusal to comply fully with treatment and a lack of homework practice. She was negativistic towards therapists. Following a relapse, she was asked to try anti-exposure and to increase rituals. Paradoxically, this led to marked self exposure to the feared situation, and self-imposed response prevention, with resultant improvement, whereas anti-exposure instructions are generally anti-therapeutic in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Information

Type
Brief Reports
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 153 , Issue 6 , December 1988 , pp. 821 - 823
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1988 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Ascher, L. M. (1977) Paradoxical intention in the treatment of urinary retention. Scandinavian Journal of Behavioural Therapy, 6, 28–32.Google Scholar
Ascher, L. M. (1981) Employing paradoxical variation in the treatment of agoraphobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 19, 533–542.Google Scholar
Ascher, L. M. & Turner, R. M. (1979) Paradoxical intention and insomnia: an experimental investigation. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 17, 408–411.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ascher, L. M. & Turner, R. M. (1980) A comparison of two methods for the administration of paradoxical intention. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 18, 121–126.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J. & Erbaugh, J. (1961) An Inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561–571.Google Scholar
Dunlap, K. (1928) A revision of the fundamental law of habit formation. Science, 67, 320–322.Google Scholar
Foa, E. B. (1979) Failure in treating obsessive-compulsives. Behavioural Research and Therapy, 17, 169–176.Google Scholar
Foa, E. B. & Goldstein, A. (1978) Continuous exposure and complete response prevention in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive neurosis. Behavioural Therapy, 9, 821–829.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frankl, V. E. (1955) The Doctor and the Soul: From Psychotherapy to Logo therapy. New York: Knopf.Google Scholar
Gerz, H. O. (1966) Experience with the Logotherapeutic Technique of Paradoxical intention in the treatment of phobic and obsessive-compulsive patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 123, 548–553.Google Scholar
Greist, J. H., Marks, I. M., Berlin, F., Gournay, K. & Noshirvani, H. (1980) Avoidance versus confrontation of fear. Behavioural Therapy, 11, 1–14.Google Scholar
Marks, I. M. (1980) Behavioural psychotherapy of neurosis: A phobic and obsessive-compulsive disorder – II. Distinctive problems. In Cure and Care of Neurosis, p. 98. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Marks, I. M. (1986) Behavioural Psychotherapy: Maudsley Pocket Book of Clinical Management. Bristol: Wright.Google Scholar
Marks, I. M. Hodgson, R. & Rachman, S. (1975) Treatment of chronic obsessive-compulsive neurosis by in-vivo exposure: A 2 year follow-up and issues in treatment. British Journal of Psychiatry, 127, 349–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marks, I. M. Lelliot, P., Basoglu, M., Noshirvani, H., Monteiro, W., Cohen, D. & Kasvikis, Y. (1988) Clomipramine, self exposure and therapist aided exposure for obsessive-compulsive rituals. British Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 522–534.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marks, I. M. Stern, R. S., Mawson, D., Cobb, J. & McDonald, R. (1980) Clomipramine and exposure for obsessive-compulsive rituals: I and II. British Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Relinger, H., Bornstein, P. H. & Mungas, D. M. (1978) Treatment of insomnia by paradoxical intention: A time series analysis. Behavioural Therapy, 9, 955–959.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solyom, L., Garza-Perez, J., Ledwidge, B. L. & Solyom, C. (1972) Paradoxical intention in the treatment of obsessive thoughts: A pilot study. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 13, 291–297.Google Scholar
Telch, M. J., Agras, W. S., Barr Taylor, C., Roth, W. T. & Gallen, C. C. (1985) Behavioural Research and Therapy, 23, 325–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.