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Cited by 663Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology ResearchPosttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchPsychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

Pierre Janet and the breakdown of adaptation in psychological trauma

Bessel A. van der Kolk, Onno van der Hart·1989·American Journal of Psychiatry
DOI 10.1176/ajp.146.12.1530
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Abstract

In this reappraisal of the work of Pierre Janet at the centenary of the publication of L'automatisme psychologique, the authors review his investigations into the mental processes that transform traumatic experiences into psychopathology. Janet was the first to systematically study dissociation as the crucial psychological process with which the organism reacts to overwhelming experiences and show that traumatic memories may be expressed as sensory perceptions, affect states, and behavioral reenactments. Janet provided a broad framework that unifies into a larger perspective the various approaches to psychological functioning which have developed along independent lines in this century. Today his integrated approach may help clarify the interrelationships among such diverse topics as memory processes, state-dependent learning, dissociative reactions, and posttraumatic psychopathology.

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  • Voluntary regular exercise lowers arousal, apparently by modulating amygdala reactivity.

    “Voluntary regular exercise is another means of lowering arousal, apparently by modulating amygdala reactivity155,156”

    From Fear and the Defense Cascade (2015) · cites this paper as [156]

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Authors
van der Kolk, B. A., & van der Hart, O.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
ORCID
Bessel A. van der Kolk
Venue
American Journal of Psychiatry
Publisher
American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Published
1989-12-01
Volume
146
Issue
12
Pages
1530-1540
ISSN
  • 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
  • 1535-7228
DOI
10.1176/ajp.146.12.1530
OpenAlex
W2295171167
Cited by
658
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 19
FWCI
27.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
Keywords
Pierre Janet, dissociation, psychological trauma, traumatic memory, reenactment, memory processes, state-dependent learning, dissociative reactions, history of psychology
MeSH terms
Mental Disorders, Combat Disorders, Dissociative Disorders, France, Humans, Hysteria, Learning, Memory, Models, Psychological, Neurotic Disorders, Psychiatry, Psychological Theory, Stress, Psychological, Temperament, History, 19th Century, History, 20th Century

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