- Henri Ellenberger
Henri F. Ellenberger (1905-1993) was a Canadian-
Swiss psychiatrist, medical historian, and criminologist, sometimes considered the foundinghistoriographer ofpsychiatry . [ [http://pup.princeton.edu/titles/5261.html] ]Ellenberger was born in
Rhodesia of French parents. He was a student of ProfessorHenri Baruk . He obtained his doctorate in 1924, and became the head of psychiatric services at theMenninger Clinic in the USA, and later Professor of Criminology at theUniversité de Montréal , inCanada . Ellenberger was not apsychoanalyst , but went through a didactic analysis withOskar Pfister between 1949 and 1952.Ellenberger is chiefly remembered for his encyclopedic study of the history of dynamic psychiatry, entitled "
The Discovery of the Unconscious ", published in 1970. This 900-page work traced the origins ofpsychoanalysis andpsychotherapy back to its 18th century beginnings in the attempts to heal disease throughexorcism , as practiced by the Catholic priestJohann Joseph Gassner , and from him through the pioneers ofhypnotism ,Franz Mesmer and theMarquis de Puységur , to the 19th century neurologistJean-Martin Charcot and the giants of 20th century psychoanalysis,Pierre Janet ,Sigmund Freud ,Alfred Adler andCarl Jung .His historical investigative work on subjects such as the fate of some of Freud's patients has been used by critics of psychoanalysis, who have judged that it could support their claims. Fact|date=June 2008
The Institut Henri Ellenberger in Paris was named in his honor. [ [http://www.phil.gu.se/fu/ro.html] ] During his lifetime he received many awards, including the Gold Medal of the Beccaria Prize in 1970 [ [http://agora.qc.ca/mot.nsf/Dossiers/Henri_Ellenberger] ] , and the Jason A. Hannah Medal of the Royal Society of Canada. [ [http://pup.princeton.edu/titles/5261.html] ]
Works
* "
The Discovery of the Unconscious ": The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry. New York: Basic Books. Hardcover edition: 1970, ISBN 0465016723. Paperback edition: 1981, ISBN 0-465-01673-1. The complete text is available online from [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=94753930 Questia] .References
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