Janet and Freud: revealing the roots of dynamic psychiatry

Interest in the work of Pierre Janet is presently undergoing a scholarly revival and, in the process, his contribution to dynamic psychiatry is increasingly being recognised. This article compares and contrasts Pierre Janet's early studies on hysteria and the neuroses with those of Freud.

The study surveys original works by Janet and Freud and contemporary scholarly exegeses. It particularly focuses on ideation and memory, consciousness and dissociation, psychological trauma, the self, therapeutic influence, and treatment by integration versus abreaction.

Grounds are presented for either preferring Janet's notions to Freud's or for integrating them.

It is concluded that a number of Janet's contributions to psychopathology and psychotherapy, particularly in the field of dissociative disorders, deserve further exploration and application.