Therapeutic Paradox in Family Therapy: A Return to Symptom Prescription

Symptom prescription is an intervention described by the school of Palo Alto and has been utilized in a myriad of clinical contexts as a psychotherapeutic tool. Although its utility in individual psychotherapy has been explored in the literature, its application in family therapy has been poorly explored with few descriptions in the literature. A brief narrative review of the available literature and databases, such as PubMed were consulted, through the use of the following keywords, in isolation or combination: symptom prescription, paradoxical intervention, therapeutic paradox and family therapy. Literature, in the English language, that was deemed pertinent to the explored theme was chosen as reference material to be included in the review. Of the search conducted on PubMed, 31 articles were found, with 8 chosen as relevant. An expanded search was conducted using GoogleScholar, with 9 articles or texts chosen due to their relevancy. Of the articles chosen, solely 3 were written after 2010 with most of the literature produced in the 80s. Paradoxical interventions are counterintuitive interventions implemented so to interrupt the reinforcing feedback loops that maintain the symptom being treated. Literature has focused on its definition, ethics of implementation and techniques in various psychotherapeutic contexts. Recent studies on the topic have been scarce. The authors aim to revive this apparently dormant theme by providing a description of this therapeutic technique and its application to family therapy, as well as discussing its potential benefits.