Robert Desoille
Encyclopedia
Robert Desoille was a French
psychotherapist
. A graduate of the Sorbonne
, he became known for his studies on waking dream
s.
Desoille was born in Besançon
into a family of military officers and began a scientific education in engineering
that he would never complete after being mobilized in World War I
. After his 1923 meeting with Colonel Eugène Caslant, who introduced him to an experimental mental imaging
technique, he developed his method of the "directed waking dream" (rêve eveillé dirigé, or RED), explicating it in seven books.
of the scenario he imagines.
, then by Carl Gustav Jung
and finally, following his membership of the French Communist Party
, he constrained himself to a Pavlovian
theorization.
Desoille's first writings in the 1930s built on the work of Freud, Pierre Janet
, and Roland Dalbiez. He studied the relationship between symbol
ism, invention
, and memory
in his early works, underscoring the applicability of the directed waking dream method in exploring sublimation
. In the 1940s, Desoille referenced Jung's collective unconscious
and presented his own conception of the mind based on Freud's three instances
. The transference
identified by Freud, Desoille believed, could be expressed and resolved in the directed waking dream. Finally in the 1950s and 1960s, concomitant to his political affiliations, Desoille held to a Pavlovian conception of neurosis
, based on reflexes, in what was termed a "rational psychotherapy". Those reflexes that are poorly adapted could be dissolved through the directed waking dream method, according to Desoille, and, starting in the imagination
, new dynamic stereotype
s could be formed. Desoille died at age 76 in Paris
.
Desoille's pupils now define themselves as "analysts" and interpret their practice along Freudian, Freudo-Lacanian
, or Jungian lines. Authors that cite Desoille's work include Charles Baudouin
, Gaston Bachelard
, Juliette Favez-Boutonier, Françoise Dolto
, and Daniel Lagache
; parallels have also been drawn between Desoille's work and that of Milton H. Erickson
and neuro-linguistic programming
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
psychotherapist
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
. A graduate of the Sorbonne
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, he became known for his studies on waking dream
Waking Dream
Waking Dream is a young adult novel by Rhiannon Lassiter, first published in 2002. It is a dark fantasy about magic, dreams and another world.- Plot summary :...
s.
Desoille was born in Besançon
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
into a family of military officers and began a scientific education in engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
that he would never complete after being mobilized in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After his 1923 meeting with Colonel Eugène Caslant, who introduced him to an experimental mental imaging
Mental image
A mental image is an experience that, on most occasions, significantly resembles the experience of perceiving some object, event, or scene, but occurs when the relevant object, event, or scene is not actually present to the senses...
technique, he developed his method of the "directed waking dream" (rêve eveillé dirigé, or RED), explicating it in seven books.
RED protocol
Lying on his back, the subject puts himself into a state of relaxation and closes his eyes in order to create an imaginary scenario in which he is the principal (or sole) hero. Placing himself behind the subject, the therapist sometimes intervenes to specify part of imaginary space or a possible bifurcation of the scenario. In another phase of the therapeutic work, the subject writes a written report which will be used in a face-to-face session in order to explore the meaning of the scenario. For children, the protocol is modified: with his eyes open, the child sits at a table and draws a comic stripComic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
of the scenario he imagines.
Influences and legacy
At the theoretical level, Desoille was influenced by first by Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
, then by Carl Gustav Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
and finally, following his membership of the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
, he constrained himself to a Pavlovian
Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was a famous Russian physiologist. Although he made significant contributions to psychology, he was not in fact a psychologist himself but was a mathematician and actually had strong distaste for the field....
theorization.
Desoille's first writings in the 1930s built on the work of Freud, Pierre Janet
Pierre Janet
Pierre Marie Félix Janet was a pioneering French psychologist, philosopher and psychotherapist in the field of dissociation and traumatic memory....
, and Roland Dalbiez. He studied the relationship between symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
ism, invention
Invention
An invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...
, and memory
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
in his early works, underscoring the applicability of the directed waking dream method in exploring sublimation
Sublimation (psychology)
In psychology, sublimation is a mature type of defence mechanism where socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are consciously transformed into socially acceptable actions or behaviour, possibly converting the initial impulse in the long term...
. In the 1940s, Desoille referenced Jung's collective unconscious
Collective unconscious
Collective unconscious is a term of analytical psychology, coined by Carl Jung. It is proposed to be a part of the unconscious mind, expressed in humanity and all life forms with nervous systems, and describes how the structure of the psyche autonomously organizes experience...
and presented his own conception of the mind based on Freud's three instances
Id, ego, and super-ego
Id, ego and super-ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche; they are the three theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction mental life is described...
. The transference
Transference
Transference is a phenomenon in psychoanalysis characterized by unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another. One definition of transference is "the inappropriate repetition in the present of a relationship that was important in a person's childhood." Another definition is "the...
identified by Freud, Desoille believed, could be expressed and resolved in the directed waking dream. Finally in the 1950s and 1960s, concomitant to his political affiliations, Desoille held to a Pavlovian conception of neurosis
Neurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but neither delusions nor hallucinations, whereby behavior is not outside socially acceptable norms. It is also known as psychoneurosis or neurotic disorder, and thus those suffering from it are said to be neurotic...
, based on reflexes, in what was termed a "rational psychotherapy". Those reflexes that are poorly adapted could be dissolved through the directed waking dream method, according to Desoille, and, starting in the imagination
Imagination
Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
, new dynamic stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s could be formed. Desoille died at age 76 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Desoille's pupils now define themselves as "analysts" and interpret their practice along Freudian, Freudo-Lacanian
Jacques Lacan
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy, and has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's...
, or Jungian lines. Authors that cite Desoille's work include Charles Baudouin
Charles Baudouin
Charles Baudouin was a French-Swiss psychoanalyst, who combined Freudianism with elements of the thought of Carl Jung and Alfred Adler.-Works:...
, Gaston Bachelard
Gaston Bachelard
Gaston Bachelard was a French philosopher. He made contributions in the fields of poetics and the philosophy of science. To the latter he introduced the concepts of epistemological obstacle and epistemological break...
, Juliette Favez-Boutonier, Françoise Dolto
Françoise Dolto
Françoise Dolto , was a French doctor and psychoanalyst, famous for her research on babies and childhood. Dolto revolutionized the field of psycho-therapeutic work with babies and with the mother baby dyad....
, and Daniel Lagache
Daniel Lagache
French physician, psychoanalyst, and professor at the Sorbonne, Daniel Lagache was born on December 3, 1903, in Paris, where he died on December 3, 1972.'He was one of the leading figures in twentieth century French psychoanalysis.-Career:...
; parallels have also been drawn between Desoille's work and that of Milton H. Erickson
Milton H. Erickson
Milton Hyland Erickson, was an American psychiatrist specializing in medical hypnosis and family therapy...
and neuro-linguistic programming
Neuro-linguistic programming
Neuro-linguistic programming is an approach to psychotherapy, self-help and organizational change. Founders Richard Bandler and John Grinder say that NLP is a model of interpersonal communication and a system of alternative therapy which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective...
.
Selected works
- Exploration de l'affectivité subconsciente par la méthode du rêve-éveillé: sublimation et acquisitions psychologiques [Exploration of Subconscious Affectivity Using the Waking Dream Method: Sublimation and Psychological Findings] (1938)
- Le rêve-éveillé en psychothérapie: essai sur la fonction de régulation de l'inconscient collectif [The Waking Dream in Psychotherapy: Essay on the Function and Regulation of the Collective Unconscious] (1945)
- Théorie et pratique du rêve-éveillé dirigé [Theory and Practice of the Directed Waking Dream] (1961)