The Discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry

The definitive history of psychiatry’s origins

“A truly great book.” —Dr. Jordan Peterson

The Discovery of the Unconscious is a monumental, integrated view of humanity’s search for an understanding of the inner reaches of the mind. In an account that is both exhaustive and exciting, distinguished psychiatrist and author Henri Ellenberger demonstrates the long chain of development—through the exorcists, magnetists, and hypnotists—that led to the fruition of dynamic psychiatry in the psychological systems of Pierre Janet, Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, and Sigmund Freud. Drawing on personal interviews and direct recollections of these scientists, Ellenberger’s analysis ranges from the late 18th century to the end of the 1940s.
 
Hailed as a classic when it was originally published in 1970, The Discovery of the Unconscious remains one of the most definitive and thoroughly researched accounts of the early history of psychiatry.

Henri F. Ellenberger (1905–1993) was a French-Canadian psychiatrist and historian of medicine. He is primarily remembered for The Discovery of the Unconscious, his pioneering history of psychiatry, and his collection of essays Beyond the Unconscious. Ellenberger was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Gold Medal of the Beccaria Prize and the Jason A. Hannah Medal of the Royal Society of Canada.