Vittoz method · Atlas

1. Introduction

Version followed: Roger Vittoz, Treatment of Neurasthenia by Means of Brain Control, 2nd English edition (trans. H. B. Brooke, Longmans, c. 1913), the English version of Traitement des psychonévroses par la rééducation du contrôle cérébral (1911). Only pp. 1–100 of the scan are drawn on; chapters after p. 100 (abnormal ideas, diminished reactive faculties, causes of relapse, insomnia, summary of treatment) are not drawn on here [uncertain]. Present-day practice follows the six-step presentation of the Vittoz IRDC institute (Paris), which trains practitioners in three cycles and is recognised by the FF2P. Where the two differ, both are named.

The Vittoz method ("brain control", contrôle cérébral; today "psychosensory re-education" or "therapy of the present") is a graded training of attention through the senses and simple acts. Vittoz, a Lausanne physician who had practised hypnosis and found it left patients dependent on the doctor, held that nervous suffering comes from weak or unstable "brain control": the faculty that balances the conscious brain (reason, judgement, will) with the unconscious brain (the flow of ideas and sensations). Change happens by practice, not explanation: the client repeatedly receives sensations without thinking about them (receptivity), does acts consciously, concentrates and lets go of mental content on purpose, and makes genuine acts of will. As control is re-learned, rumination, anxiety and "brain wandering" lose their hold and the person regains autonomy. Today's practitioners frame this as a balance between receptivity (receiving sensations) and emissivity (producing thoughts and decisions). [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 1–40; Techno-Science; VaudFamille; Vittoz IRDC, La méthode Vittoz]

The method is a structured training approach rather than a full psychotherapy model. Its IRDC form adds a "psychic" phase in which the therapeutic relationship becomes a process of working through one's history. That phase is not documented [uncertain].

2. Framework

Two versions of the sequence exist.

A. Vittoz's original sequence (1911/1913) [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 30–100]

Assessment. Vittoz judged the patient's state of control by placing his hand on the forehead and reading a "vibration", which he classed as normal, torpid, over-excited or tense. The present-day evidence for this "Vittoz wave" is lacking. Do not use it as a diagnostic (see Section 4, item 1). Replace it with clinical assessment and the client's self-report. [synthesis]
Functional ("mechanical") treatment. Training starts with acts, because controlling a movement is easier than controlling a thought (p. 40).
- (a) Control of acts: conscious movements, walking, sense receptions, then voluntary acts.
- (b) Control of ideas: a brief self-review several times a day, and learning to recognise active and passive brain states.
- (c) Concentration: curves and the infinity sign, a metronome, retained impressions, body parts, a muscle point, the figure "1", unifying thought, then concentration on tasks and on the ideas of calm, energy and control.
- (d) Elimination and de-concentration: erasing objects, figures, letters, words and sentences, then fears and obsessions. De-concentration is also used for sleep.
- (e) Will: a breath-linked act of will, the three conditions of a voluntary act, graded tasks, a three-step self-check, and will applied to ideas and feelings.
Psychical treatment. This phase is for complex cases. Simple cases may need only functional treatment (p. 95). It traces symptoms to their psychical causes, including "clichés" (old impressions that replay a symptom), and goes on to abnormal ideas formed in passive states. The text was read only to p. 100. Later chapters on relapse, insomnia and the treatment summary were not read [uncertain].

B. Contemporary IRDC sequence: six steps [source: Vittoz IRDC, La Psychothérapie Vittoz]

Regain receptivity.
Live conscious acts.
Refine concentration and memory.
Rediscover the will.
Experience psychosensory relaxation.
Explore inner life (emotions, personal history).

IRDC groups the work into three families: receptivity, concentration (including will) and psychosensory relaxation. VaudFamille gives the same three families. [source: Vittoz IRDC, La méthode Vittoz; VaudFamille]

Format.

Individual sessions with a practitioner, plus short, repeated exercises built into daily life. [source: VaudFamille; IRDC]
Groups and workshops: IRDC runs one-day and half-day discovery sessions, themed workshops, and FoVea® groups (two-hour online group sessions). [source: IRDC home page]
University teaching: a Lyon DU module teaches open-attention ("réceptivité") and focused-attention ("concentration") practice plus an emotional-flexibility practice in small groups. [source: Lyon DU programme 2026–27]
Session length, frequency and total number: no figure was found in any source opened [uncertain]. A plan that seems reasonable is weekly to fortnightly individual sessions, with brief home practice several times a day. [synthesis]
Exercises are kept short (seconds at first) and varied. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 43–45]

Criteria for moving between phases

Move from acts to ideas once simple acts are done calmly and as a whole, without strain. Vittoz judged this by the regular "vibration"; today, use the client's report of calm and unity. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 46–48; IRDC Les actes conscients; adaptation = synthesis]
The figure "1" exercise: three clean repetitions, rising to seven, is Vittoz's marker of sufficient concentration (pp. 62–63).
Do not attack a symptom before the will is reliable, and do not demand more energy than the patient has (pp. 85–87).
Functional training is complete when the patient can change an abnormal state, control the mind and use the will. Psychical work follows if needed (p. 95).
IRDC: concentration follows receptivity, and right concentration happens "dans la détente" (in relaxation). If concentration is strained, go back to receptivity. [source: IRDC La concentration; going back = synthesis]

3. Guiding principles

Training, not insight, cures. Patients often understand what to do but cannot do it, so show them and have them practise. [source: Vittoz 1913, p. 29]
Autonomy over dependence. Vittoz left hypnosis because it kept patients reliant on the doctor. Hand the skill over to the client from the first session. [source: Techno-Science; Vittoz 1913, pp. 28–29]
Feel, don't think. A conscious act is felt, not thought about. If the client is narrating or analysing, redirect them to sensation. [source: IRDC Les actes conscients, quoting Vittoz]
Receive without judging. Receptivity means taking in a sensation without naming, comparing or imagining. Coach the client to let analysis drop. [source: IRDC La réceptivité; Techno-Science]
Simple before complex. Go from movements to ideas and from figures to words to fears. Never start with the symptom. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 40, 75]
Short and repeated. Each exercise lasts seconds, is varied, and is repeated many times a day in ordinary life. Prescribe frequent micro-practice rather than long sessions. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 43–46; VaudFamille]
Effort without tension. Right concentration is relaxed, and forced attention is its opposite. Watch for strain and lower the demand. [source: IRDC La concentration]
Rest is part of the exercise. The pauses between repetitions are essential; without them the exercise is of little use. Time the pauses explicitly. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 62–63]
Don't monitor yourself mid-exercise. Checking one's own concentration breaks it. Ask for review after the exercise, not during it. [source: Vittoz 1913, p. 66]
The present moment as anchor. Sensation returns the client to the present and interrupts rumination and anticipation. Use sensation as the exit from looping thought. [source: VaudFamille; IRDC]
Genuine will, not wishing. An act of will requires knowing exactly what is wanted, believing it possible, and wanting it sincerely. Test every goal against these three conditions. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 82–86]
Never reverse a decision. Reversals erode self-confidence. Help the client make only decisions they can keep. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 85–87]
Daily life is the training ground. Washing, opening a window and walking all become exercises. Assign real-life acts, not only office drills. [source: IRDC Les actes conscients]
Unity of the person. The aim is to feel whole: intention, decision and act coincide. Use the client's felt sense of unity and calm as the success marker. [source: IRDC Les actes conscients; IRDC La Psychothérapie Vittoz]
Respect the client's history when it surfaces. Body work can bring up emotions and memories, and the method then becomes psychotherapy. Be ready to shift from training to processing. [source: IRDC La méthode Vittoz; IRDC La Psychothérapie Vittoz]

4. Intervention inventory

The items are grouped in Vittoz's order. Items marked IRDC come from the contemporary institute pages. Example language is illustrative unless it is quoted and cited. Vittoz judged nearly every exercise by the forehead "vibration". Here, each Watch for gives an observable or self-report substitute, and those substitutes are [synthesis].

A. Assessment

1. Hand-on-forehead "control" (historical: do not use diagnostically)

Purpose: Vittoz rested his hand on the patient's forehead to read a pulsation he took to reflect brain activity. He described a regular wave (about 35–100 per minute) as healthy, with irregular patterns for torpor, over-excitement and tension. He used it to check whether an exercise had been done correctly. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 30–37; Techno-Science]
Status: The claim that a hand can read brain states this way has no support from present-day evidence. Whether IRDC practitioners still use it was not established [uncertain].
What to do instead: Assess with a standard intake: presenting problems, medical review of physical symptoms, mental status and risk. Track progress with the client's own ratings of calm, presence and strain, scored 0–10 before and after each exercise. If any touch is used for other exercises, get explicit consent each time and offer a no-touch alternative. [synthesis]

B. Control of acts and sense receptions (Vittoz 1913, pp. 41–48; IRDC)

2. Receptivity with an object (IRDC entry exercise)

Purpose: Regain the ability to receive sensations consciously, interrupt the flow of thought, and rest the mind. This is the starting point of the whole method. Use it in the first session and whenever the client is ruminating or scattered. [source: IRDC La réceptivité]
Steps:
1. Give the client a simple object, such as a stone, to hold.
2. Invite them to notice its texture, then its weight, then its temperature.
3. They stay with these sensations without adding thoughts, interpretations or comparisons.
4. For a second or two they let the flow of thought go, effortlessly, absorbed in the sensation.
5. Extend the same attention to the body: small finger and hand movements, contact with the chair and floor, the natural rhythm of breathing.
6. Ask for a brief report afterwards (see Watch for).
Example language (illustrative): "Just let the stone rest in your hand. Feel its weight… its coolness… nothing to describe, only to receive."
Watch for: The client naming, describing or judging the object instead of feeling it; effortful staring. It is working when the client reports that thoughts paused briefly, that the exercise felt simple, and that a sense of presence or calm appeared. [source: IRDC La réceptivité]

3. Receptive sensations through each sense

Purpose: Train presence through each sense in turn and give the client portable, seconds-long practices. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 43–45; IRDC La réceptivité]
Steps:
- Sight. Vittoz version: pass a picture briefly before the eyes, then the patient describes what was seen. IRDC version: take in colours and shapes as they arrive, without naming or analysing, like a child just waking ("Regardez comme l'enfant au réveil", IRDC quoting Vittoz).
- Hearing. First name the sounds present. Then settle on one sound (Vittoz used a ticking watch). IRDC version: receive sounds without labelling them, so outer sound replaces inner chatter.
- Touch. Feel an object's form, weight, temperature and consistency without comparing it to anything.
- Taste and smell (IRDC). Notice an odour, a flavour or a texture of food, staying aware of the mouth's movements.
- Keep each exercise to a few seconds and vary them. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 43–45]
Example language (illustrative): "For the next few seconds, let the sounds in the room come to you. No need to name them."
Watch for: Labelling and commentary (the most common error); boredom from repeating the same drill. It is working when the client can return to a sense on cue and reports brief quiet.

4. Conscious movement and conscious walking

Purpose: The first act Vittoz trained, because a movement is easier to control than a thought (p. 40). It builds the experience of an act done whole and calmly. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 41–43]
Steps:
1. Ask the client to bend one arm slowly while feeling the movement throughout.
2. Then take four or five steps, feeling each foot alternate.
3. Widen attention to the whole body moving and notice whether the movement is smooth.
4. Repeat briefly and often during the day.
Example language (illustrative): "Bend your arm and feel it bending, from start to finish, nothing else."
Watch for: Thinking about the arm rather than feeling it; rushing. It is working when the movement feels unified and calm, and the mind holds only the act. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 46–48]

5. Conscious acts in daily life: decided, felt, verified (IRDC)

Purpose: Bring receptivity into ordinary gestures, to lessen rumination about the past, doubt and anxious anticipation, and to build calm and security. [source: IRDC Les actes conscients]
Steps:
1. Decide. Choose to make one ordinary act conscious, such as washing hands or opening a window.
2. Feel. Attend to its sensations: the water's sound and temperature, the soap's smell, the handle in the hand, the stretch of the arms, the air on the face.
3. Verify. Check whether the result matches what was intended.
4. Prescribe two or three such acts a day, tied to existing routines. [frequency = synthesis]
Example language: IRDC attributes to Vittoz: "Avoir conscience d'un acte, ce n'est pas le penser mais le sentir" (being conscious of an act means feeling it, not thinking it). Illustrative: "When you open the window tonight, decide to, feel it, then check that you did what you meant to."
Watch for: The act done while thinking of something else. If no sense of unity or calm appears, the act was thought rather than felt (IRDC). It is working when intention, decision and act coincide and the client reports calm.

6. Voluntary acts ("I will get up")

Purpose: Distinguish an act that is merely felt from one that is willed, and practise the willed form in daily routines. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 45–46]
Steps:
1. Explain the difference using Vittoz's pair: "I feel that I am getting up" (a conscious act) versus "I will get up" (a voluntary act) (p. 45).
2. Have the client practise rising from the chair as a voluntary act.
3. Assign deliberate voluntary acts for getting up, going to bed, and going in and out of the house.
Example language (illustrative): "This time, don't just notice yourself standing. Decide to stand, then stand."
Watch for: Hesitation or half-starts. It is working when the client describes the willed act as clear and firm and distinct from mere awareness.

C. Control of ideas (Vittoz 1913, pp. 48–55)

7. Brief self-review ("consciousness" exercise)

Purpose: Make thoughts and feelings conscious so that they can later be concentrated on and willed. Vittoz names three conditions for controlling an idea: it is conscious, the mind can concentrate on it, and it is subject to the will (p. 48). [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 48–51]
Steps:
1. Several times a day the client pauses briefly and notes what they are feeling and thinking at that moment.
2. They do this mentally or in writing. Vittoz valued the written record because it shows patterns to the patient and the physician.
3. Review the notes in session to find recurring states and triggers.
Example language (illustrative): "Three times a day, take ten seconds: what am I feeling, what am I thinking? Jot it down, no analysis."
Watch for: The review turning into rumination or self-criticism; keep it brief and factual. It is working when the client spots states earlier and the notes become more precise.

8. Recognising active and passive states

Purpose: Teach the client to tell an active (controlled) state from a passive one, in which fears and obsessions take hold. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 52–53]
Steps:
1. Describe Vittoz's seven passive varieties in plain terms: dreamy or tired, brain wandering, over-excitement, confusion, worry, depression, great distress.
2. Have the client identify which state they are in during the day, recorded in the self-review notes.
3. On noticing a passive state, the client switches to a brief receptivity or conscious-act exercise to return to an active state. [this link = synthesis, consistent with pp. 46–55]
Example language (illustrative): "When you catch yourself drifting, just name it: 'wandering'. Then feel your feet on the floor."
Watch for: Using the labels to judge oneself. It is working when the client can name states and shift out of them more quickly. Vittoz notes that some patients improve by changing the state alone without addressing the idea behind it. He saw this as a less complete but useful "mechanical" cure (pp. 54–55).

D. Concentration (Vittoz 1913, pp. 55–72; IRDC La concentration)

Vittoz defined concentration as the faculty of fixing one's thought on a given point (quoted by IRDC). IRDC adds that concentration follows receptivity and must be relaxed. [source: IRDC La concentration]

9. Tracing a curve, the figure 8 or the infinity sign

Purpose: The first pure concentration exercise. It trains smooth, sustained attention on a simple form. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 56–59]
Steps:
1. With eyes closed, the client traces in the mind a slow figure 8 or infinity sign.
2. They follow the line continuously for a few loops.
3. They stop, rest, and report.
Example language (illustrative): "Picture a slow figure eight, lying on its side. Just follow the line round, at your own pace."
Watch for: A broken or jerky line, or losing the shape. Vittoz judged this by the hand; use the client's report. It is working when the tracing becomes fluid and unforced.

10. Following a metronome in the mind

Purpose: Hold a simple rhythm in attention for gradually longer spans. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 57, 60]
Steps:
1. Play a metronome. The client follows the ticks inwardly, without moving.
2. Start with 10–15 beats.
3. Lengthen the span gradually over sessions.
Example language (illustrative): "Just follow the ticks, one by one, for about ten of them."
Watch for: Counting effortfully or tensing in time with the beat. It is working when the client stays with the beat longer without strain.

11. Retaining a sense impression

Purpose: Prolong a received impression through sight, hearing or touch for a set time. This bridges receptivity and concentration. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 57, 60]
Steps:
1. The client receives an impression: an object touched, a sound, a sight.
2. They keep the impression present for a set number of seconds after contact ends.
3. They let it go, then report.
Example language (illustrative): "Touch the wood, then take your hand away and keep the feel of it for a few seconds."
Watch for: Replacing the impression with a verbal description. It is working when the impression stays vivid for longer.

12. Concentration on body parts

Purpose: Anchor attention in the body and build interoceptive awareness. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 57–61]
Steps:
1. The client attends, in turn, to the right hand, left hand, feet, elbows, knees, ears and fingers.
2. They stay a few seconds at each point and notice whatever sensation is present.
Example language (illustrative): "Bring your attention to your right hand. Whatever is there, warmth, tingling, nothing in particular, just notice it."
Watch for: Vittoz counted tingling, a slight beat or warmth as success signs. Do not suggest that a specific sensation must appear. Any felt sensation counts. For trauma-exposed or health-anxious clients, see Section 5. [caution = synthesis]

13. Concentration on a point touched by the therapist

Purpose: Narrow attention to one precise spot. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 58, 61]
Steps:
1. Vittoz's version: the physician touches a muscle and the patient concentrates on that exact spot until a slight contraction is felt.
2. No-touch adaptation: the client places their own fingertip on, for example, the back of the hand, then concentrates on that spot after lifting the finger. [synthesis]
3. Always get explicit consent before any touch and offer the self-touch version as the default. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Touch the back of your hand with one finger, lift it, and stay with exactly that spot."
Watch for: Discomfort with touch. It is working when attention stays on one point.

14. The figure "1"

Purpose: Vittoz's core concentration exercise, and his benchmark for adequate concentration. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 59–63]
Steps:
1. The client mentally writes the figure "1", says it inwardly and hears it.
2. They rest for half a second to a second.
3. They repeat this three times in all, with a rest each time.
4. Over sessions they build up to seven repetitions, which Vittoz treated as sufficient concentration.
5. The rests are essential. Without them Vittoz judged the exercise of little use.
6. IRDC variant: visualise the vertical stroke of the "1" as a graphic form (see item 18).
Example language (illustrative): "See a '1', hear yourself say it… rest… again… rest… once more."
Watch for: Rushing through the rests; the image drifting into other thoughts. It is working when seven clean, unhurried repetitions are possible.

15. Unifying thought ("one")

Purpose: Gather scattered thoughts into a single point, and practise this in distracting settings. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 64–65]
Steps:
1. The client imagines all thoughts converging on one centre, for example like spokes meeting at a hub.
2. They hold the convergence briefly.
3. Once this works in quiet, practise among noise and people.
Example language (illustrative): "Let everything come in toward one point, like spokes to the centre of a wheel."
Watch for: The client works only in silence. Generalise to real environments. It is working when collected attention holds in busy settings.

16. Concentration on a task (problem, reading summary, lecture)

Purpose: Transfer concentration to real mental work. [source: Vittoz 1913, p. 66]
Steps:
1. The client chooses a bounded task: solve a problem, summarise a page they have read, or follow a talk.
2. They set aside irrelevant thoughts as they appear and return to the task.
3. They do not check their own concentration while working; review comes afterwards.
Example language (illustrative): "Read this page, then sum it up in two lines. If other thoughts come, let them pass and come back."
Watch for: Self-monitoring mid-task, which Vittoz says breaks concentration. Progress here is slow. It is working when the client completes tasks with fewer interruptions.

17. Concentration on an idea or state: calm, energy, control ("appels d'état")

Purpose: Evoke a helpful state and prolong it. IRDC calls these "state calls": an idea is clarified by the mind, felt in the body and weighed by emotion. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 67–68; IRDC La concentration]
Steps:
- Calm. The client calls up calm through a picture, a landscape, music, prayer or a remembered calm moment. They stay with it until the calm is felt in the body, then prolong it.
- Energy. They recall a time of real energy and let that sense take shape and intensify in the body.
- Control. Vittoz had patients affirm and recall the state of being in control several times a day (p. 68).
Example language (illustrative): "Recall a time you felt truly calm. Where do you feel that calm in your body now? Stay there a little longer."
Watch for: Forcing the state, or using it to push away distress. If evoking a calm memory brings up loss or pain, switch to receptivity and explore the feeling. It is working when the state can be called up and felt physically. [source: IRDC; responses = synthesis]

18. Concentration on breathing and graphic forms (IRDC)

Purpose: Relaxed, focused attention, and a surface onto which inner states can be projected and worked with. [source: IRDC La concentration]
Steps:
- Breathing. Focus on the breath or a precise body point. IRDC says breathing practices are tailored to each person; specifics were not given [uncertain].
- Graphic forms. Visualise simple shapes: the infinity sign, a triangle, a spiral, the vertical stroke of "1". IRDC says the forms carry symbolic meaning and can hold a projected state that is then acted on. The procedure for this projection is not described [uncertain].
Example language (illustrative): "See a simple triangle… just its three lines… rest with it."
Watch for: Mental wandering from image to image; effortful holding. IRDC: "Une concentration juste se fait dans la détente" (right concentration happens in relaxation). It is working when attention is held fluidly.

19. Concentration for physical symptoms (historical claim)

Purpose: Vittoz claimed that concentration could warm cold hands, reduce sweating or flushing, and influence the heart, breathing, digestion and pain. He described a test in which a pinch fades as the patient concentrates on it, and he insisted this was not suggestion. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 69–72]
Status: These are untested historical claims [uncertain]. Any physical symptom needs medical assessment first. Concentration may then be used for comfort or for coping alongside medical care, not instead of it. [synthesis]

E. Elimination and de-concentration (Vittoz 1913, pp. 73–77)

20. Elimination of objects and figures

Purpose: Train the capacity to let go of mental content on purpose. This is the counterpart of concentration. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 73–75]
Steps:
1. Place three to five small objects on a sheet of white paper. The client looks at them and memorises them.
2. With eyes closed, the client removes them from the mind one by one.
3. They check with eyes closed that each one has gone.
4. Variant: imagine two or three figures and erase them one by one.
5. Variant: keep the impression of one object while erasing another.
Example language (illustrative): "Now picture the sheet… and let the key disappear from it. Is the sheet clear where the key was?"
Watch for: Vittoz notes that patients often keep exactly what they meant to erase. Slow down and reduce the number of items. It is working when erasure is clean and calm.

21. Graded elimination: letters, words, sentences, then fears and obsessions

Purpose: Extend elimination toward troubling content. [source: Vittoz 1913, p. 75]
Steps:
1. Progress from figures to letters, then words, then short sentences.
2. Only once this is reliable, apply it to a fear or obsessive thought. Vittoz says the effect is temporary at first and becomes more lasting with practice.
Example language (illustrative): "Write the word in your mind… and now wipe it away, letter by letter."
Watch for: Caution [synthesis]: for OCD, intrusive thoughts and trauma memories, deliberate suppression can increase the frequency of the content, and modern guidance favours exposure-based or acceptance-based work. Use elimination as letting go, never as anxious pushing away. Stop if the target returns more often or with more distress, and refer to OCD-specific treatment (ERP) where indicated.

22. De-concentration for sleep

Purpose: Lengthen mental rest until it passes into sleep. Vittoz presents this as a remedy for insomnia. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 75–77]
Steps:
1. In bed, the client does the figure "1" exercise.
2. They gradually shrink the "1" or push it away until it vanishes.
3. They lengthen the rests between repetitions to several seconds.
4. Whenever a thought intrudes, they return to the "1", then let it fade again.
Example language (illustrative): "Let the '1' grow smaller and further away… rest… if a thought comes, bring back the '1', then let it go again."
Watch for: Trying hard to sleep, which defeats the rest. Vittoz's full insomnia chapter (p. 114) was not read [uncertain]. Combine with standard sleep assessment. [synthesis]

F. The will (Vittoz 1913, pp. 78–93)

Vittoz treats the will as a latent force present in everyone. It is limited in power and duration and is weakened by disuse, by "leakages" of energy, or by not knowing how to use it. The IRDC page on the will is not drawn on here [uncertain]. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 78–81]

23. Breath-linked act of will

Purpose: Give the client a concrete, repeatable felt sense of willing. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 81–82]
Steps:
1. The client takes a long breath in.
2. They hold it for two to four seconds.
3. Before exhaling, they say inwardly "I will", perhaps clenching the fists.
4. They exhale and release.
5. Repeat a few times without over-analysing; Vittoz says mechanical repetition is enough.
Rationale given: Vittoz held that no effort of will happens during expiration.
Example language (illustrative): "Breathe in… hold… and on the held breath, inwardly: 'I will.' Now let it go."
Watch for: Breath-holding is unsuitable for clients with respiratory or cardiac conditions, panic disorder with breathing-related fears, or pregnancy complications. Drop the breath-hold and keep only the inner "I will". Clenching can become tension; keep it brief. [contraindications = synthesis]

24. Testing a goal: the three conditions of a voluntary act

Purpose: Turn a vague wish into an act of will that can actually be carried out. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 82–86]
Steps: Check the goal against three conditions in turn.
1. Know exactly what is wanted. State it in one short phrase.
2. Possibility. Does the client judge it possible? The mind refuses efforts it thinks futile.
3. Sincerity. Is it genuinely wanted? Vittoz names the obstacles here: paralysing doubt, fear of effort, self-deception and moral cowardice. He saw sincerity as the condition most often missing.
- If a condition fails, reshape the goal (smaller, clearer, truly wanted) until all three hold. [reshaping = synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Say in one sentence what you want to do. Is it possible today? And honestly, do you want it, or do you think you should?"
Watch for: Goals that are really "shoulds" imposed by others. It is working when the client feels a clear, calm readiness to act.

25. Graded will training

Purpose: Build reliable willing step by step. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 85–87]
Steps:
1. Start with willed simple movements lasting seconds: rising, walking, bending the arm.
2. Increase difficulty gradually, for example writing a letter, or finishing a task within a set time.
3. Never reverse a decision once made. Vittoz says reversal erodes self-confidence, so set only decisions the client can keep.
4. Do not ask for more energy than the client can give, and do not attack a symptom before the will is reliable.
Example language (illustrative): "Choose one small thing you will definitely do before our next session, small enough that you'll keep to it."
Watch for: Over-ambitious steps, then failure and self-blame. It is working when kept decisions accumulate.

26. Three-step self-check of willing

Purpose: Let the client locate where their willing breaks down. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 86–87]
Steps: The client checks three moments in turn:
- (a) the attempt: trying to use the will;
- (b) possibility: "Can I do it?";
- (c) the decision: having made up one's mind.
- Vittoz observes that early on (a) is usually present, (b) is doubtful and (c) is missing; (c) remains the hardest. Work on whichever step is weak.
Example language (illustrative): "You tried, yes. Did you think you could? And did you actually decide, or stay at 'I'll see'?"
Watch for: Confusing (a) with (c). It is working when the client reports clear decisions more often.

27. Will applied to ideas and feelings; separating will from desire

Purpose: Extend the will from acts to inner states, and separate real willing from mere desire, intention or wish. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 87–91]
Steps:
1. Apply the will to an inner state, such as "I will control myself". Recalling a past energetic act helps the client recognise their own way of willing.
2. Desire versus will. Desires and intentions often stay "platonic" and leave the client distressed, believing they have tried. If no real effort is felt, the client changes the wish until it does feel like effort. Vittoz describes real willing as simpler, calmer and truer.
3. Two alternatives. Do not over-weigh secondary reasons. Once the wish is clear, decide quickly; Vittoz holds that the first impression is generally best.
4. Concentration. Stray thoughts blur what is being willed, so concentrate first (Section D).
Example language (illustrative): "Is that 'I'd like to' or 'I will'? Say it both ways and notice which one has weight."
Watch for: Rapid deciding used to avoid weighing serious life choices. Reserve rapid deciding for everyday indecision. [synthesis]

28. "Mental recovery": pulling oneself together

Purpose: Use the trained will to turn a passive, uncontrolled state into an active one, until this becomes automatic. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 91–93]
Steps:
1. On noticing a passive state (item 8), the client makes a brief act of will (item 23) toward control.
2. They follow it with a conscious act or receptivity exercise.
3. With practice they aim to catch the lapse before it develops.
Watch for: Some patients describe a purely mechanical sensation, such as lifting the brain or a see-saw movement. Vittoz judged this less reliable than true recovery. It is working when recovery is quicker and holds.

G. Psychical treatment (Vittoz 1913, pp. 93–100)

29. Tracing psychical causes

Purpose: Used in complex cases after functional training. Find the ideas and earlier experiences behind symptoms so that the client can anticipate and check them. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 93–96]
Steps:
1. Explore with the client when the symptom began and in what circumstances, including earlier life and memories.
2. Link the symptom to its cause in terms the client recognises.
3. Use the trained control (Sections D–F) to meet the symptom when it is anticipated.
Example language (illustrative): "When did this first happen? What else was going on in your life then?"
Watch for: This is exploratory work. Proceed at the client's pace, and use standard trauma-informed practice if traumatic material emerges. [synthesis]

30. Working with "clichés" (crystallised old impressions)

Purpose: Address symptoms that recur suddenly without an apparent present cause, such as fear, distress, nausea, giddiness or palpitations. Vittoz understood these as past impressions replaying mechanically. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 96–99]
Steps:
1. Identify the original impression. Vittoz's cases: vomiting at meals traced to a violent emotion at a meal; palpitations traced to a doctor's warning to watch the heart; distress at the number 3 linked to an accident on the third of a month.
2. Help the client recognise the symptom as an old impression rather than a present danger. Vittoz reports that recognition is often enough.
3. If the cliché is deeply fixed, the client deliberately recalls it until it feels under control. Vittoz states that a cliché produced on purpose does not trigger the symptom.
Example language (illustrative): "So this feeling may be an old imprint from that day, not a sign of danger now. Let's call it up on purpose, here, while you stay steady."
Watch for: Rule out medical causes before attributing a physical symptom to a cliché. Deliberate recall of distressing memories is a form of exposure: get consent, keep it brief and controlled, and stop if the client is overwhelmed (Section 5). [synthesis] Vittoz's chapter on abnormal ideas, which follows, was cut off in the scan [uncertain].

H. Later IRDC steps (limited documentation)

31. Psychosensory relaxation

Purpose: Relax the body through the autonomic nervous system and let go of mental and emotional tension, opening a space of calm. VaudFamille gives the experiential summary "je goûte au plaisir d'être". [source: VaudFamille; IRDC La méthode Vittoz]
Steps: No step-by-step procedure is given [uncertain]. Do not improvise a "Vittoz relaxation" script. Until the procedure is learned through training, use items 2, 3, 12, 17 and 18 in a slow, quiet sequence. [synthesis]

32. Exploring inner life ("Vittoz psychique")

Purpose: The sixth IRDC step: work through emotions and reconnect with one's personal history as these surface during sensory work. [source: IRDC La Psychothérapie Vittoz]
Steps: The IRDC page is not drawn on here [uncertain]. The closest documented procedure is Vittoz's psychical treatment (items 29–30).

33. Group formats: FoVea® and emotional flexibility

Purpose: IRDC runs FoVea® groups (including online sessions), and a Lyon university module teaches open-attention ("réceptivité") and focused-attention ("concentration") practices. The module also includes an emotional-flexibility practice in small groups, with morning theory, afternoon practice workshops and debriefs on home practice. [source: IRDC home page; Lyon DU programme 2026–27]
Steps: Session-by-session content is not given [uncertain]. For a clinician adapting the method to a group [synthesis]:
- open with a short receptivity exercise;
- teach one new concentration or conscious-act exercise;
- practise it in pairs;
- assign daily micro-practice;
- open the next session with a debrief of that practice.

5. Handling problems

Items tagged [source] come from Vittoz or IRDC; everything else is [synthesis].

Problems the sources address

"I understand, but I can't do it." Vittoz expected this. Show and practise rather than explain, and break the task into smaller acts. [source: Vittoz 1913, p. 29]
Thinking instead of feeling. If no calm or unity appears, the act was thought, not felt (IRDC). Shorten the exercise to one or two seconds and use a stronger sensory anchor: a cold stone, a textured object, the feet on the floor. [source: IRDC Les actes conscients; anchors = synthesis]
Straining or forcing. Right concentration is relaxed. Lower the demand, lengthen the rests, and go back to receptivity. [source: IRDC La concentration; Vittoz 1913, pp. 62–63]
Checking oneself during the exercise. Self-monitoring breaks concentration. Agree that review happens only afterwards. [source: Vittoz 1913, p. 66]
Keeping what was meant to be erased. This is common in elimination exercises. Reduce the number of items, slow down, and make sure concentration is solid first. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 74–75]
Weak or "platonic" will; chronic indecision. Test the goal against the three conditions (item 24), find the missing step (item 26), make the goal smaller, decide quickly on everyday choices, and keep every decision. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 82–91]
Fear of effort, self-deception. Vittoz names these as obstacles to sincerity. Explore them non-judgementally, then set a goal the client genuinely owns. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 82–85; stance = synthesis]
Old symptoms returning suddenly. Consider a cliché (item 30): name it as an old impression and, if needed, recall it deliberately under control. [source: Vittoz 1913, pp. 96–99]
Setback under stress. Stress can disturb the balance again; resuming regular practice restores it. Normalise the setback and restart from receptivity and conscious acts. [source: IRDC Les actes conscients]
Relapse. Vittoz's chapter on the causes of relapse (p. 110) was not read [uncertain]. In the meantime, write a written maintenance plan with the client: which daily micro-practices to keep, early warning states (item 8), and when to book a booster session.

Problems the sources do not address [synthesis]

Non-adherence to home practice. Tie exercises to existing routines (washing, doorways, first sip of a drink). Cut each practice to seconds, track it with a simple tick sheet, and open each session by reviewing practice. If practice is still not happening, test the goal with item 24: is it genuinely wanted?
Stuck clients (no felt change after several sessions).
- Check whether exercises are being thought rather than felt.
- Vary the senses.
- Move practice into real settings (item 15).
- Check for untreated depression, sleep problems, medical causes or substance use.
- Consider whether the problem needs a different, evidence-based treatment, and refer if so.
Overwhelm and dissociation. Attention to the body or the breath can trigger panic, flashbacks or dissociation in some clients.
- Start with external senses (sight, sound, an object held) before turning to inner sensations.
- Keep eyes open if preferred, and give the client control over pacing and the right to stop.
- Ground with orienting to the room.
- Do not do breath-holding (item 23) or deliberate recall (item 30) until the client is stable.
Health anxiety and panic. Body-part and breath focus can amplify checking. Frame sensations as neutral and avoid suggesting that particular sensations should appear (item 12).
OCD and intrusive thoughts. Elimination (items 20–21) can slide into thought suppression or neutralising. Treat OCD with ERP. Use Vittoz exercises only for general presence and calm, and never as a ritual.
Touch. Vittoz's own methods used physical contact (forehead, muscle points). Use no-touch versions by default. Any touch needs explicit consent each time, must suit the client's history and culture, and must be within your professional code.
The "Vittoz wave". Do not tell clients that their brain state can be read by hand, and do not base decisions on it. Its claims lack support.
Ruptures. The exercises can feel trivial or patronising ("you want me to hold a stone?"). Acknowledge the reaction and explain the training rationale briefly: control is learned by doing, starting small (Vittoz, p. 29, p. 40). Invite the client to test it for themselves, and adapt the exercises to their interests (music, sport, cooking). If a will exercise felt like blame, repair explicitly: the will is a skill being trained, not a moral test.
Strong emotion or memories surfacing. IRDC expects this. Slow down, stay present, and shift from training to processing (item 32), or refer if it falls outside your competence.
Suicidal ideation or self-harm. The method is not a crisis treatment. Conduct a standard structured risk assessment, collaborative safety planning and lethal-means counselling (secure storage or removal), and involve appropriate services. Resume Vittoz work only as a supplementary skill once the client is safe.
Severe mental illness (psychosis, severe depression, mania). Use only as an adjunct within an evidence-based treatment plan and coordinated care. Avoid long eyes-closed or visualisation exercises in active psychosis.
Children and adolescents. Keep exercises playful and very short and involve parents in home practice. No child-specific Vittoz protocol was found [uncertain].
Physical symptoms. Vittoz attributed many bodily symptoms to poor control. Always arrange medical assessment before treating a physical symptom psychologically.
Training and competence. Vittoz practitioners range from psychologists to lay practitioners. Before calling your practice "Vittoz", complete institute training (IRDC Cycles 1–3) and practise within your own professional scope. [source: IRDC home page; job codebook]

Sources

Sources:

Treatment of Neurasthenia by Means of Brain Control, 2nd ed. (Yale scan, Internet Archive): text read to p. 100; the rest of the book is not in the scan.
Treatment of Neurasthenia by Teaching of Brain Control (Yale scan, Internet Archive): text read to p. 60.
Techno-Science: Roger Vittoz
VaudFamille: méthode Vittoz
Vittoz IRDC, home page
Vittoz IRDC: La méthode Vittoz
Vittoz IRDC: La Psychothérapie Vittoz
Vittoz IRDC: La réceptivité
Vittoz IRDC: Les actes conscients
Vittoz IRDC: La concentration
Université Lyon 1: DU Thérapies brèves, programme 2026–2027

Further reading (not drawn on) [uncertain]: IRDC: La volonté; IRDC: La relaxation psychosensorielle; IRDC: Le Vittoz psychique.

Books:

Vittoz, R. (1911). Traitement des psychonévroses par la rééducation du contrôle cérébral. Paris: Baillère. Reprinted by Téqui (1992) and Desclée de Brouwer (1999). Known through the English translation.
Vittoz, R. (1911; 2nd ed. c. 1913). Treatment of Neurasthenia by Means of Brain Control (trans. H. B. Brooke). London: Longmans, Green. The edition followed; read to p. 100.
Vittoz, R. (posthumous). Notes et pensées: Angoisse ou contrôle. Not drawn on [uncertain].
Mingant, M. Vivre l'instant avec la méthode Vittoz. Paris: Eyrolles. Not drawn on [uncertain].

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