Psychological Trauma and Fixed Ideas in Pierre Janet’s Conception of Dissociative Disorders
Year: 2006
Type: article
Abstract: This article describes Janet's concept of psychological trauma and the formation of rigid thought complexes (fixed ideas). This concept forms the basis for Janet's functional nosology of the neuroses, and is related to his dynamic psychology of conduct or action. It can be viewed as an early self-regulation model, because it contains a stratified bio-, socio-, and psycho-genetic hierarchy of behavioral "tendencies" that produce a more or less adaptive act by means of two hypothesized intervening variables: psychological force and psychological tension. Fixed ideas are viewed within this framework as an outcome of deficient processes of adaptation to psychological trauma. The article closes by pointing out affinities between Janet's psychological concept and modern cognitive and behavioral therapies.
Authors: Gerhard Heim, Karl-Ernst Bühler
Institution: University of Würzburg
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W129474394