A People's History of Psychoanalysis

“An absolutely fascinating book” Lundimatin

“A reminder of the discipline’s historical links with the struggle for emancipation and against social inequalities” France Culture

It has been decades since Freud fell out of favor, not only in mainstream psychiatry but also in radical thought, where both he and Lacan were accused of sexist and class biases. A People’s History of Psychoanalysis refuses to accept this growing depoliticization of a formerly revolutionary field.

Florent Gabarron-Garcia shatters the comfortable narrative of psychoanalysts as armchair theorists placidly interpreting family complexes sheltered in their consulting rooms. Recalling Freud’s radical moments (such as his promotion of free clinics in Weimar Germany) and lesser-known figures including the Marxist Feminist psychoanalyst Marie Langer, his new history delves into how revolutionary ferment has cross-fertilized the exploration of the unconscious.

A People’s History of Psychoanalysis is for those who wish to resist the conformist, therapist-centered, and repressive management of madness under contemporary capitalism.

Florent Gabarron-Garcia is a psychoanalyst, psychologist and doctor in psychopathology. He lectures at University Paris 8. He is a member of the editorial board of the journal Chimères, founded by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. He currently lives in France.