Abstract
Prevention, often meaning early detection and cure, stems from a medical model, still in vogue in mental health circles. While valuable, certain contradictions occur with its use, and the positive, high-level functioning model takes us further in grappling with and defining conditions to avoid or cure. A paradoxical condition exists, and may be made solvable by a paradoxical approach. In order to be able to resist the effects of tragedy we need to know how the victim feels. By suggesting how to be a victim, we generate the energy to function at our most positive level.