Areader's Guide to Pierre Janet on Dissociation: Aneglected Intellectual Heritage
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AREADER'S GUIDE TO PIERRE JANET ON DISSOCIATION: ANEGLECTED INTELLECTUAL HERITAGE Onno van cler Hart, Ph. D. Barbara Friedman, M.A., M.F.C.C. Onno van der Hart, Ph.D., practices at the Institute for est to the study of Breuer and Freud (1895), others have Psychotrauma in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Barbara Fried searched for the original sources in French psychiatry, man, M.A., M.F.C.C., is in private practice in Beverly Hills, especially those of Pierre Janet. Their efforts have been California. hampered by the difficulty ofobtaining the original publica tions in French, and by the scarcity ofthese works translated For reprints write Barbara Friedman, M.A., M.F.C.C., 8665 in English translation. Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 407, Beverly Hills, CA 90211 In recent years a change has taken place with regard to Janet. The Societe PierreJanet in France has been reprint ABSTRACT ing his books since 1973. In the English-speaking world a small group of devotees has long recognized the value of A century ago there occurred a peak ofinterest in dissociation and the Janet's contribution to psychopathology and psychology. dissociative disorders, then labeled hysteria. The most important With the reprintofJanet's Major Symptoms ofHysteria in 1965, scientific and clinical investigator ofthis subject was Pierre Janet the publication of Ellenberger's The Discovery ofthe Uncon (1859-1947), whose early body of work is reviewed here. The scious in 1970, and Hilgard's Divided Consciousness in 1977, evolution of his dissociation theory and its major principles are the importance ofJanet's contribution to the study ofdisso traced throughout his writings. Janet's introduction of the term ciation and related phenomenabecame better known to the "subconscious" and his concept of the existence of consciousness English-speakingworld (cf.Nemiah, 1974, 1979, 1980; Perry, outside ofpersonal awareness are explained. The viability and rele 1984; Perry & Lawrence, 1984; Decker, 1986; Haule, 1986). vance ofdissociation as the underlyingphenomenon in a wide range Janet's contributions to the field are not limited to hysteria oj disorders is presented. It is proposed that Janet's theory and and dissociation, but encompass a wide range ofsubjects, as methodology ofpsychological analysis and dynamic psychotherapy indicated by Ellenberger (1970) and a handful of other are cogent and relevant for today's students and practitioners. English language publications indicate (cf. Horton, 1924; Bailey, 1928; Mayo, 1948; Havens, 1966; Ey, 1968; Hart, 1983; INTRODUCTION Haule, 1984; Pitman, 1984, 1987; Pope, Hudson, & Mialet, 1985). Acenturyago,PierreJanet (1859-1947) becameFrance's The purpose of this paper is to reviewJanet's books on most important student ofdissociation and hysteria. At that hysteria and dissociation and to provide a summary of the time, hysteria included a broad range of disorders now central concepts in each of them. A brief description of categorized in the DSM-III-R (American PsychiatricAssocia Janet's career enables the reader to place these studies in tion, 1987) as dissociative, somatization, conversion, border their historical perspective. Fora more complete biography, line personality, andpost-traumaticstress disorders. Through the reader is referred to Ellenberger's encyclopedic opus, extensive study, observation and experiments using hypno The Discovery ofthe Unconscious (1970). sis in the treatment of hysteria, Janet discovered that disso ciation was the underlying characteristic mechanism pres Pierre Janet ent in each of these disorders. Pierre Janet was born in Paris on May 30, 1859, to an Unfortunately, his view of the importance of dissocia upper middle class family. He maintained a distinguished tion in hysteria and its treatment were abandoned when academic standing in the finest French schools, dividing his hypnosisfell into disrepute. This retreatfrom hypnosis at the interests between science and philosophy. At twenty-two end of the nineteenth century coincided with the publica when he embarkedupon his professional careeras professor tion and popularity ofFreud's early psychoanalytic studies. ofphilosophy in Le Havre, two events had had a profound Historically,Janet's considerable bodyofworkwas neglected effect upon him. The first, in 1881, was the International in favor of the rising popularity and acceptance of Freud's Electrical Exposition in Paris, where it became clear that the psychoanalytical observations and conceptualizations. future would be dominated by science, technology and Today, renewed clinical and scientific interest in disso electricity. The second, in 1882, was the publication of ciation and the dissociative disorders calls for reexamining Charcot's paper, which reestablished the scientific status of the experimental, clinical, and theoretical observationsmade hypnosis (Ellenberger, 1970 p. 335). in psychiatry during the past century. While many psycho At Le Havre Janet devoted his spare time to volunteer analytically-oriented clinicians restrict their historical inter- workwith patients atthe hospital and to psychiatric research. 3 DISSOCIATIOi\, Vol. 2, ~o. I: ~Iarch 1989 In search of a subject for his doctoral dissertation, he was psychological nature, hypnosis itself became discredited. introduced to Leonie, a 45-year-old woman whom he proved Janet was soon the only one in the Salpetriere using could be hypnotized directly and from a distance. His experi hypnosis in his research and clinical work. He published ments were reported in a paper read at the Societe de many studies on hysteria (of. Janet, 1898a & b; Raymond & Psychologie Physiologique in Paris in 1885, under the chair Janet, 1898), then turned his attention to another broad manship of Charcot. Although these experiments (Janet, category of neuroses: psychasthenia with its inherent obses 1885, 1886a) gave Janet instant fame, he soon realized that sions, phobias, tics, etc. This resulted in the two volumes on many reports of his work were inaccurate. He became Obsessions and Psychasthenia (Les Obsessions et la Psychasthinie) suspicious ofparapsychological research, preferring instead published in 1903 (d. Pitman, 1984, 1987). to pursue systematic investigation of the phenomena of Meanwhile, the climate at the Salpetriere worsened for hypnosis and suggestion. Influenced by the work of Ribot Janet. Babinski, formerly loyal to Charcot, but invested and Charcot,Janet dedicated himself to the study of modi exclusively in the neurological portion of Charcot's teach fication of states of consciousness in Leonie and hysterical ing, began to regard hysteria as essentially the result of patients in Le Havre's psychiatric hospital (Janet, 1886b, suggestion, and even as a form of malingering; a disorder 1887, 1888). He jokingly named his little ward "Salle Saint able to disappear entirely by the influence of persuasion Charcot" in the popular fashion ofnaming French hospitals (Babinski, 1901, 1909). Dejerineregardedhypnosisas morally wards after saints (Ellenberger, 1970).Janetread everything reprehensible (d.Janet, 1919; Ellenberger, 1970). In 1910 he could on hypnosis, finding a wealth ofimportant clinical when Dejerine became Director of the Salpetriere , Janet, descriptions in Bertrand, Deleuze, and Despine, the old the champion of both hysteria and hypnosis, had to leave. masters of magnetism. He discovered that important theo Although nothonoredin his own country,Janetwasverywell retical notions had been developed by early researcherssuch received in North and South America where he visited and as Main de Biran, Moreau de Tours, and Taine. lectured regularlybeginningin 1904. He received an honor Janet found that the concept of dissociation is a concept ary doctorate at Harvard's tricentenary celebration in 1936. first found in the work of Moreau de Tours in 1845. Its His Harvard lectures in 1908 were published as The Major equivalent term psychological dissolution (desagregation psy Symptoms ofHysteria (Janet, 1907) and are currently garner chologique), also introduced by Moreau de Tours in 1845, ing much attention again. was equally well received. Janet's extraordinarily exact and A decade earlier, in 1896,Janethad becomeProfessor of lucid descriptions ofexperimental and clinical observations Psychology at the College de France, a famous institute of (cf. Binet, 1890) ofthese concepts and his theoretical system advanced learning in Paris. First as Ribot's substitute, then as continue to receive praise in modern reviews ofhisworks (d. his successor, Janet held this chair until 1934. Many of his Pope, Hudson, & Mialet, 1985; Pitman, 1987). courses have been published, complete or in summary (d. In 1889, Charcot invited Janet to the Salpetriere, the Janet, 1919, 1920/21, 1926b, 1927, 1929b, 1929, 1932a&b, famous psychiatric teaching hospital in Paris, where he 1925a, 1936; Horton, 1924; Bailey, 1928). Obliged to present became head of a psychological laboratory. While continu a new subject every year,Janet used his classes as a means of ing his vocation as professor ofphilosophy and publishing a combining his psychopathological findings and normal psy textbook in that field (Janet, 1894c), Janet began to study chology into a unified system. This endeavor began appear medicine, completing his studies in 1893 with his doctoral ing in Psychological Automatism where he remarked that for thesis (Janet, 1893b). During this period he published a those who know mental illness well, it is not difficult to study number of papers describing