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Counterphobic attitude is a response to anxiety that, instead of fleeing the source of fear in the manner of a phobia, actively seeks it out, in the hope of overcoming the original anxiousness.^[1]

Contrary to the avoidant personality disorder, the counterphobic represents the less usual, but not totally uncommon, response of seeking out what is feared:^[2] Codependents may fall into a subcategory of this group, hiding their fears of attachment in over-dependency.^[3]

Action

Dare-devil activities are often undertaken in a counterphobic spirit, as a denial of the fears attached to them, which may be only partially successful.^[4] Acting out in general may have a counterphobic source,^[5] reflecting a false self over-concerned with compulsive doing to preserve a sense of power and control.^[6]

Sex is a key area for counterphobic activity, sometimes powering hypersexuality in people who are actually afraid of the objects they believe they love.^[7] Adolescents, fearing sex play, may jump over to a kind of spurious full sexuality;^[8] adults may overvalue sex to cover an unconscious fear of the harm it may do.^[9] Such a counterphobic approach may indeed be socially celebrated^[10] in a postmodern vision of sex as gymnastic performance or hygiene,^[11] fuelled by what Ken Wilber described as "an exuberant and fearless shallowness".^[12]

Traffic accidents have been linked to a counterphobic, manic attitude in the driver.^[13]

Sprache

Julia Kristeva considered that language could be used by the developing child as a counterphobic object,^[14]^{[clarification needed]} protecting against anxiety and loss.^[15]

Ego psychology points out that through the ambiguities of language, the concrete meanings of words may break down the counterphobic attitude and return the child to a state of fear.^[16]

Freud

Didier Anzieu saw Freud's theorisation of psychoanalysis as a counterphobic defence against anxiety through intellectualisation: permanently ruminating on the instinctive, emotional world that was the actual object of fear.^[17]

Wilhelm Fliess has been seen as playing the role of counterphobic object for Freud during the period of the latter's self-analysis.^[18]

Therapy

Otto Fenichel considered that undoing systematised counterphobic defences was only a first step in therapy, needing to be followed by analysis of the original anxiety itself.^[19] He also considered that psychological trauma could break down counterphobic defences, with results that "may be very painful for the patient; they are, from a therapeutic point of view, favorable".^[20]

David Rapaport emphasised the need for caution and extreme slowness in analyzing counterphobic defences.^[21]

Cultural examples

The attraction of horror movies has been seen to lie in a counterphobic impulse.^[22]

Many actors often have a shy personality when off-camera, released counterphobically in conditions of performance.^[23]

The Batman comics and movies often take Bruce Wayne's fear of bats as a central part of his origin story.

Sick, the documentary on performance artist Bob Flanagan, discusses the counterphobic attitude of Flanagan, who sought to escape the chronic pain of his cystic fibrosis by engaging in extreme acts of masochism.

References

^ Otto Fenichel (1946). The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis. Routledge. pp. 480–481. ISBN 9780203981580.
^ Martin Kantor (2010). The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 30. ISBN 978-0313377525.
^ Martin Kantor (2010). The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 36. ISBN 978-0313377525.
^ Salman Akhtar (2009). Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis. Karnac. p. 60. ISBN 978-1855758605.
^ Judy Cooper (2011). Speak of Me as I Am:The Life and Work of Masud Khan. Taylor & Francis. p. 66. ISBN 9780367327064.
^ Rosalind Minsky (1996). Psychoanalysis and Gender:An Introductory Reader. Psychology Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-0415092210.
^ Otto Fenichel (1946). The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis. Routledge. p. 516. ISBN 9780203981580.
^ D. W. Winnicott (1973). The Child, the Family, and the Outside World. Penguin Books. p. 218. ISBN 978-0140136586.
^ Julia Segal (2001). Melanie Klein. p. 46.
^ Lesley Caldwell, ed. (2010). Sex and Sexuality:Winnicottian Perspectives. Karnac Books for the Squiggle Foundation. p. 116. ISBN 9781855759091.
^ Elisabeth Roudinesco (2008). Philosophy in Turbulent Times. Columbia University Press. p. xi. ISBN 9780231143004.
^ Ken Wilber (2000). Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution. Shambhala. p. 7. ISBN 978-1570627446.
^ Graham P. Bartley (2008). Traffic Accidents. p. 166.
^ Julia Kristeva (1982). Powers of Horror. Columbia University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0231053471.
^ Adam Phillips (1994). On Flirtation. Harvard University Press. pp. 82–83. ISBN 9780674634404.
^ Selma H. Fraiberg (1987). The Magic Years. pp. 123–125.
^ Didier Anzieu (1986). Freud's Self-Analysis. pp. 182, 577–581.
^ Lydia Flem (2003). Freud the Man. p. 59.
^ Otto Fenichel (1946). The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis. Routledge. p. 485. ISBN 9780203981580.
^ Otto Fenichel (1946). The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis. Routledge. pp. 549–553. ISBN 9780203981580.
^ David Rapaport (nd). "The Autonomy of the Ego". In Glen T. Morris (ed.). Dimensions of Psychology. p. 14.
^ Robert Newman (1993). Transgressions of Reading. p. 63.
^ Martin Kantor (2010). The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 62. ISBN 978-0313377525.

External links

[1] Otto Fenichel (1946). The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis. Routledge. pp. 480–481. ISBN 9780203981580.

[2] Martin Kantor (2010). The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 30. ISBN 978-0313377525.

[3] Martin Kantor (2010). The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 36. ISBN 978-0313377525.

[4] Salman Akhtar (2009). Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis. Karnac. p. 60. ISBN 978-1855758605.

[5] Judy Cooper (2011). Speak of Me as I Am:The Life and Work of Masud Khan. Taylor & Francis. p. 66. ISBN 9780367327064.

[6] Rosalind Minsky (1996). Psychoanalysis and Gender:An Introductory Reader. Psychology Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-0415092210.

[7] Otto Fenichel (1946). The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis. Routledge. p. 516. ISBN 9780203981580.

[8] D. W. Winnicott (1973). The Child, the Family, and the Outside World. Penguin Books. p. 218. ISBN 978-0140136586.

[9] Julia Segal (2001). Melanie Klein. p. 46.

[10] Lesley Caldwell, ed. (2010). Sex and Sexuality:Winnicottian Perspectives. Karnac Books for the Squiggle Foundation. p. 116. ISBN 9781855759091.

[11] Elisabeth Roudinesco (2008). Philosophy in Turbulent Times. Columbia University Press. p. xi. ISBN 9780231143004.

[12] Ken Wilber (2000). Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution. Shambhala. p. 7. ISBN 978-1570627446.

[13] Graham P. Bartley (2008). Traffic Accidents. p. 166.

[14] Julia Kristeva (1982). Powers of Horror. Columbia University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0231053471.

[15] Adam Phillips (1994). On Flirtation. Harvard University Press. pp. 82–83. ISBN 9780674634404.

[16] Selma H. Fraiberg (1987). The Magic Years. pp. 123–125.

[17] Didier Anzieu (1986). Freud's Self-Analysis. pp. 182, 577–581.

[18] Lydia Flem (2003). Freud the Man. p. 59.

[19] Otto Fenichel (1946). The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis. Routledge. p. 485. ISBN 9780203981580.

[20] Otto Fenichel (1946). The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis. Routledge. pp. 549–553. ISBN 9780203981580.

[21] David Rapaport (nd). "The Autonomy of the Ego". In Glen T. Morris (ed.). Dimensions of Psychology. p. 14.

[22] Robert Newman (1993). Transgressions of Reading. p. 63.

[23] Martin Kantor (2010). The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 62. ISBN 978-0313377525.

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+{{Short description|Psychology terminology}}
-'''Counterphobic attitude''' is a response to [[anxiety]] that, instead of fleeing the source of fear in the manner of a [[phobia]], actively seeks it out, in the hope of overcoming the original anxiousness.<ref>Otto Fenichel, ''The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis'' (1946) p. 480-1</ref>
+'''Counterphobic attitude''' is a response to [[anxiety]] that, instead of fleeing the source of fear in the manner of a [[phobia]], actively seeks it out, in the hope of overcoming the original anxiousness.<ref>{{cite book|author=Otto Fenichel|title=The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis|date=1946|pages=480–481|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780203981580}}</ref>
-In terms of [[avoidant personality disorder]], the counterphobic represents the less usual, but not totally uncommon, response of apparently seeking out what is feared:<ref>Martin Kantor, ''The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder'' (2010) p. 30</ref> [[codependents]] may fall into a subcategory of this group, hiding their fears of attachment in over-dependency.<ref>Kantor, p. 36</ref>
+Contrary to the [[avoidant personality disorder]], the counterphobic represents the less usual, but not totally uncommon, response of seeking out what is feared:<ref>{{cite book|author=Martin Kantor|title=The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder|date=2010|page=30|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-0313377525}}</ref> [[Codependents]] may fall into a subcategory of this group, hiding their fears of [[attachment theory|attachment]] in over-dependency.<ref>{{cite book|author=Martin Kantor|title=The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder|date=2010|page=36|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-0313377525}}</ref>
 ==Action==
+Dare-devil activities are often undertaken in a counterphobic spirit, as a denial of the fears attached to them, which may be only partially successful.<ref>{{cite book|author=Salman Akhtar|title=Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis|date=2009|page=60|publisher=Karnac |isbn=978-1855758605}}</ref> [[Acting out]] in general may have a counterphobic source,<ref>{{cite book|author=Judy Cooper|title=Speak of Me as I Am:The Life and Work of Masud Khan|date=2011|page=66|publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9780367327064}}</ref> reflecting a [[false self]] over-concerned with compulsive doing to preserve a sense of power and control.<ref>{{cite book|author=Rosalind Minsky|title=Psychoanalysis and Gender:An Introductory Reader |date=1996|page=122|publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0415092210}}</ref>
+Sex is a key area for counterphobic activity, sometimes powering [[hypersexuality]] in people who are actually afraid of the objects they believe they love.<ref>{{cite book|author=Otto Fenichel|title=The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis|date=1946|page=516|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780203981580}}</ref> Adolescents, fearing [[Making out|sex play]], may jump over to a kind of spurious full sexuality;<ref>{{cite book|author=D. W. Winnicott|title=The Child, the Family, and the Outside World|date=1973|page=218|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0140136586}}</ref> adults may overvalue sex to cover an unconscious fear of the harm it may do.<ref>{{cite book|author=Julia Segal|title=Melanie Klein|date=2001|page=46}}</ref> Such a counterphobic approach may indeed be socially celebrated<ref>{{cite book|editor=Lesley Caldwell|title=Sex and Sexuality:Winnicottian Perspectives|date=2010|page=116|publisher=Karnac Books for the Squiggle Foundation |isbn=9781855759091}}</ref> in a postmodern vision of sex as gymnastic performance or hygiene,<ref>{{cite book|author=Elisabeth Roudinesco|title=Philosophy in Turbulent Times|date=2008|page=xi|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231143004}}</ref> fuelled by what [[Ken Wilber]] described as "an exuberant and fearless [[Superficiality|shallowness]]".<ref>{{cite book|author=Ken Wilber|title=Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution|date=2000|page=7|publisher=Shambhala | isbn=978-1570627446}}</ref>
-Dare-devil activities are often undertaken in a counterphobic spirit, as a denial of the fears attached to them, which denial may be only partially successful.<ref>Salman Akhtar, ''Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis'' (2009) p. 60</ref> [[Acting out]] in general may have a counterphobic source,<ref>Judy Cooper, ''Speak of Me as I Am'' (2011) p. 66</ref> reflecting a [[True self and false self|false self]] over-concerned with compulsive doing to preserve a sense of power and control.<ref>Rosalind Minsky, ''Psychoanalysis and Gender'' (1996) p. 122</ref>
+Traffic accidents have been linked to a counterphobic, [[Mania|manic]] attitude in the driver.<ref>{{cite book|author=Graham P. Bartley|title=Traffic Accidents|date=2008|page=166}}</ref>
-Sex is a key area for counterphobic activity, sometimes powering [[hypersexuality]] in people who are actually afraid of the objects they believe they love.<ref>Fenichel, p. 518</ref> Adolescents, fearing [[Making out|sex play]], may jump over to a kind of spurious full sexuality;<ref>D. W. Winnicott, ''The Child, the Family, and the Outside World'' (1973) p. 218</ref> adults may overvalue sex to cover an unconscious fear of the harm it may do.<ref>Julia Segal, ''Melanie Klein'' (2001) p. 46</ref> Such a counterphobic approach may indeed be socially celebrated<ref>Lesley Caldwell ed., '' Sex and Sexuality'' (2010) p. 116</ref> in a postmodern vision of sex as gymnastic performance or hygiene<ref>Elisabeth Roudinesco, ''Philosophy in Turbulent Times'' (2008) p. xi</ref>, fuelled by what [[Ken Wilbur]] described as "an exuberant and fearless [[Superficiality|shallowness]]".<ref>Ken Wilbur, ''Sex, Ecology, Spirituality'' (2000) p. 7</ref>
-Traffic accidents have been linked to a counterphobic, [[Mania|manic]] attitude in the driver.<ref>Graham P. Bartley, ''Traffic Accidents'' (2008) p. 166</ref>
 ==Language==
+[[Julia Kristeva]] considered that language could be used by the developing child as a counterphobic object,<ref>{{cite book|author=Julia Kristeva|title=Powers of Horror|date=1982|page=41|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0231053471}}</ref>{{clarify|date=December 2013}} protecting against anxiety and loss.<ref>{{cite book|author=Adam Phillips|title=On Flirtation|date=1994|pages=82–83|publisher=Harvard University Press | isbn=9780674634404}}</ref>
+[[Ego psychology]] points out that through the ambiguities of language, the concrete meanings of words may break down the counterphobic attitude and return the child to a state of fear.<ref>{{cite book|author=Selma H. Fraiberg|title=The Magic Years|date=1987|pages=123–125}}</ref>
-[[Julia Kristeva]] considered that language could be used by the developing child as a counterphobic object,<ref>Julia Kristeva, ''Powers of Horror'' (1982) p. 41</ref> protecting against anxiety and loss.<ref>Adam Phillips, ''On Flirtation'' (1994) p. 82-3</ref>
-[[Ego psychology]] points out that through the ambiguities of language, the concrete meanings of words may break down the counterphobic attitude and return the child to a state of fear.<ref>Selma H. Fraiberg, ''The Magic Years'' (1987) p. 123-5</ref>
 ==Freud==
+[[Didier Anzieu]] saw Freud's theorisation of [[psychoanalysis]] as a counterphobic defence against anxiety through intellectualisation: permanently ruminating on the instinctive, emotional world that was the actual object of fear.<ref>{{cite book|author=Didier Anzieu|title=Freud's Self-Analysis|date=1986|pages=182;577–581}}</ref>
+[[Wilhelm Fliess]] has been seen as playing the role of counterphobic object for Freud during the period of the latter's self-analysis.<ref>{{cite book|author=Lydia Flem|title=Freud the Man|date=2003|page=59}}</ref>
-[[Didier Anzieu]] saw Freud's theorisation of [[psychoanalysis]] as a counterphobic defence against anxiety through intellectualisation: permanently ruminating on the instinctive, emotional world that was the actual object of fear.<ref>Didier Anzieu, ''Freud's Self-Analysis'' (1986) p. 182 and p. 577-581</ref>
-[[Wilhelm Fliess]] has been seen as playing the role of counterphobic object for Freud during the period of the latter's self-analysis.<ref>Lydia Flem, ''Freud the Man'' (2003) p. 59</ref>
 ==Therapy==
+[[Otto Fenichel]] considered that undoing systematised counterphobic defences was only a first step in therapy, needing to be followed by analysis of the original anxiety itself.<ref>{{cite book|author=Otto Fenichel|title=The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis|date=1946|page=485|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780203981580}}</ref> He also considered that [[psychological trauma]] could break down counterphobic defences, with results that "may be very painful for the patient; they are, from a therapeutic point of view, favorable".<ref>{{cite book|author=Otto Fenichel|title=The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis|date=1946|pages=549–553|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780203981580}}</ref>
+[[David Rapaport]] emphasised the need for caution and extreme slowness in analyzing counterphobic defences.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Rapaport|chapter=The Autonomy of the Ego|editor=Glen T. Morris|title=Dimensions of Psychology|date=nd|page=14}}</ref>
-[[Otto Fenichel]] considered that underdoing systematised counterphobic defences was only a first step in therapy, needing to be followed by analysis of the original anxiety itself.<ref>Fenichel, p. 485</ref> He also considered that [[psychological trauma]] could break down counterphobic defences, with results that "may be very painful for the patient; they are, from a therapeutic point of view, favorable".<ref>Fenichel, p. 549-53</ref>
-[[David Rapaport]] emphasised the need for caution and extreme slowness in analyzing counterphobic defences.<ref>David Rapaport, 'The Autonomy of the Ego', in Glen T. Morris ed., ''Dimensions of Psychology'' (nd) p. 14</ref>
 ==Cultural examples==
-The attraction of [[horror movies]] has been seen to lie in a counterphobic impulse.<ref>Robert Newman, ''Transgressions of Reading'' (1993) p. 63</ref>
+The attraction of [[horror movies]] has been seen to lie in a counterphobic impulse.<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Newman|title=Transgressions of Reading|date=1993|page=63}}</ref>
-Actors often have a shy personality, released counterphobically in conditions of performance.<ref>Kantor, p. 62</ref>
+Many [[Actor|actors]] often have a [[Shyness|shy]] personality when off-camera, released counterphobically in conditions of performance.<ref>{{cite book|author=Martin Kantor|title=The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder|date=2010|page=62|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-0313377525}}</ref>
+The [[Batman]] comics and movies often take Bruce Wayne's fear of bats as a central part of his origin story.
+''[[Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist|Sick]]'', the documentary on performance artist [[Bob Flanagan (performance artist)|Bob Flanagan]], discusses the counterphobic attitude of Flanagan, who sought to escape the chronic pain of his [[cystic fibrosis]] by engaging in extreme acts of [[Sadomasochism|masochism]].
 ==See also==
+{{col div|colwidth=30em}}
 * [[Accident-proneness]]
 * [[Counterdependency]]
@@ Line 41: / Line 43: @@
 * [[Extraversion]]
 * [[Compensation (psychology)|Overcompensation]]
+* [[Paradoxical intention]]
 * [[Reaction formation]]
 * [[Russian roulette]]
-* [[Screen memory]]
 * [[Schizoid personality disorder]]
 * [[Sexual fetishism]]
+{{colend}}{{Portal|Psychology
+}}
 == References ==
+{{lacking ISBN|date=December 2013}}
-{{Reflist|colwidth=40em}}
+{{Reflist|2}}
-==Further Reading==
+==Further reading==
-[[Ernst Kris]], 'Ego Development and the Comic', ''International Journal of Psychoanalysis'' XIX (1938)
+* [[Ernst Kris]], 'Ego Development and the Comic', ''[[International Journal of Psychoanalysis]]'' XIX (1938)
+* [[Nina Searl]], 'The Flight to Reality', ''International Journal of Psychoanalysis'' X (1929)
+* Thomas S. Langer, ''Choices for Living'' (2002)
-[[Nina Searl]], 'The Flight to Reality', ''International Journal of Psychoanalysis'' X (1929)
-Thomas S. Langer, ''Choices for Living'' (2002)
 == External links ==
 * [http://www.enotes.com/counterphobic-reference/counterphobic Francis Drossart, 'Counterphobic']
-* [http://www.scribd.com/doc/35182497/Counter-Phobic-Behavior 'Counterphobic Behavior']
+* [https://www.scribd.com/doc/35182497/Counter-Phobic-Behavior 'Counterphobic Behavior']
-* [http://www.springerlink.com/content/n2qvt48262673062/ E. Poznanski/B. Arthur, 'The Counterphobic Defence in Children']
+* [https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF01433642 E. Poznanski/B. Arthur, 'The Counterphobic Defence in Children']
 <!--- Categories --->
-[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]
 [[Category:Psychoanalytic terminology]]
 [[Category:Defence mechanisms]]