Henri Ellenberger
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Henri F. Ellenberger (1905–1993) was a Canadian-Swiss psychiatrist, medical historian, and criminologist, sometimes considered the founding historiographer of psychiatry.
Ellenberger was born in Rhodesia of French parents. He was a student of Professor Henri Baruk. He obtained his doctorate in 1924, and became the head of psychiatric services at the Menninger Clinic in the USA, and later Professor of Criminology at the Université de Montréal, in Canada. Ellenberger was not a psychoanalyst, but went through a didactic analysis with Oskar 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 of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy back to its 18th century prehistory in the attempts to heal disease through exorcism, as practiced by the Catholic priest Johann Joseph Gassner, and from him through the researchers of hypnotism, Franz Mesmer and the Marquis de Puységur, to the 19th century neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot and the main figures of 20th century psychotherapy Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler and Carl 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.
The Institut Henri Ellenberger in Paris was named in his honor. During his lifetime he received many awards, including the Gold Medal of the Beccaria Prize in 1970, and the Jason A. Hannah Medal of the Royal Society of Canada.
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
