Janet's psychological analysis

Domain I · Psychodynamic & depth psychology · Pierre Janet · 1889

What it is

Janet's "psychological analysis" (analyse psychologique) is a careful search for the dissociated, "subconscious fixed ideas" (idées fixes) behind a patient's symptoms. These are usually unassimilated traumatic memories. Treatment then follows a "mental economy": first restore the patient's…

Format

• Format: frequent individual sessions. Janet used hospitalisation ("isolation") freely; today that means outpatient work plus environmental protection, with inpatient care kept for crisis.
• Format: in Janet's work, individual sessions over weeks to months, often with hypnosis. Irène needed months to build a verbal memory (PH p. 681). VSBB93 subdivide this stage into preparation, synthesis and realisation/integration.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• the function becomes steadier. Agitation or fatigue mean the step was too large.
• longer sustained focus and less mental fog. Stop or scale down if it brings agitation or fatigue.
• stability holds across longer gaps, and the patient makes plans that don't involve the therapist.
• sensation returns and the patient feels more present. Body focus can trigger trauma memories, so pace it.
• fewer crises and more energy in sessions. Watch for isolation becoming abandonment or reinforcing avoidance.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.