EP85 Invited Address 04a - If You Desire to See, Learn How to Act - Paul Watzlawick, PhD

Description:

Educational Objectives:

1. To trace the development of therapeutic language from interpretation to injunctions
2. To show the effect that this evolution has had on the idea of "reality adaptation," highlight the "as if" nature of our interpretations

*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*

Outline:

Dr. Paul Watzlawick's Introduction and Esthetic Imperative

• Dr. Stuart Gould introduces Dr. Paul Watzlawick, noting his affiliations with Stanford University and the Mental Research Institute

• Watzlawick begins with Heinz von Foerster’s “esthetic imperative,” highlighting the necessity of action in therapy

• He critiques the historical dominance of linear scientific thinking in psychotherapy, including Freud’s deterministic causality

• He challenges the belief that understanding causes is required for change, likening it to Karl Popper’s concept of self-sealing propositions

Critique of Scientific Dogmatism and Therapeutic Models

• He critiques the dismissal of contradictory evidence in therapeutic models, referencing Edward Glover’s writing on Freud and Jung

• He questions psychodynamic assumptions, such as the inevitability of symptom substitution after symptom relief

• Watzlawick criticizes overly complex therapeutic models, advocating for a more practical and naturalistic approach to change

• He highlights Franz Alexander’s corrective emotional experience as a more grounded, experience-based method

Historical and Contemporary Therapeutic Approaches

• He recounts Michael Balint’s “somersault” case as a vivid example of corrective emotional experience transforming the patient’s reality

• References Jean Piaget’s view of knowledge as action-based, shaped through engagement with the world

• Uses Pascal’s Wager and John Elster’s theory to illustrate how behavior can lead to belief rather than vice versa

• Critiques the individualistic focus of traditional therapy, advocating for a systemic understanding rooted in relational dynamics

Injunctive Language and Therapeutic Techniques

• Introduces George Spencer Brown’s idea of injunctive (do-based) language, likening it to practical arts like cooking or playing music

• Notes that much of scientific and therapeutic training is implicitly injunctive, focused on doing rather than describing

• Cites Milton Erickson’s use of behavioral prescriptions even outside hypnosis as examples of powerful therapeutic injunctions

• Emphasizes the value of learning and using the client’s own language to reduce resistance and enhance impact

Performance Speech and Therapeutic Practice

• Applies John Austin’s concept of performative speech (e.g., promises, apologies) to therapy

• Describes therapy as a vehicle for generating self-fulfilling prophecies with real psychological effects

• Rejects the notion that large-scale problems require large-scale solutions, favoring incremental, context-sensitive change

• Invokes Gregory Bateson’s idea that “doing good in minute particulars” is more powerful than utopian ambitions

Audience Questions and Responses

• Ernest Rossi connects John Austin’s performative speech acts to Erickson’s work, acknowledging early doubts about Erickson’s methods

• Rossi explains Erickson’s mastery of behavioral prescriptions that catalyze change through implication and enactment

• Watzlawick addresses questions on applying performative language to global conflicts, proposing clear procedural “START” mechanisms for nuclear disarmament

• Reaffirms the importance of adopting the client’s language for effective, non-resistant therapeutic suggestion

Gestalt Therapy and Performative Language

• A Gestalt therapist comments on disrupting client value systems via performative interventions to enable new awareness

• Watzlawick agrees, reinforcing the need for therapists to tailor interventions based on the specific linguistic and relational context

• He warns against over-reliance on intuition or generic techniques, advocating for fit, pragmatism, and effectiveness

• Concludes by reaffirming his preference for grounded therapeutic techniques and skepticism toward grandiose or idealized solutions