Paul Charles Dubois (28 November 1848 – 4 November 1918) was a Swiss

neuropathologist Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole-body autopsies. Neuropathologists usually work in a department of anatomic pathology, but work closely with the clinic ...

who was a native of

La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...

. Dubois studied medicine at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

, and in 1876 was a general practitioner of medicine in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. He was interested in

psychosomatic medicine Psychosomatic medicine is an interdisciplinary medical field exploring the relationships among social, psychological, behavioral factors on bodily processes and quality of life in humans and animals. The academic forebear of the modern field of ...

, eventually gaining a reputation as a highly regarded

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

. In 1902 he became a professor of

neuropathology Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole-body autopsies. Neuropathologists usually work in a department of anatomic pathology, but work closely with the clinic ...

at Bern. Dubois was influenced by the writings of German

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

Johann Christian August Heinroth Johann Christian August Heinroth (17 January 1773 – 26 October 1843) was a German physician who was the first to use the term psychosomatic A somatic symptom disorder, formerly known as a somatoform disorder,(2013)

(1773–1843). Dubois is known for the introduction of "persuasion therapy", a process that employed a rational approach for treatment of

neurotic disorders Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

. Within this discipline, he developed a psychotherapeutic methodology that was a form of

Socratic dialogue Socratic dialogue ( grc, Σωκρατικὸς λόγος) is a genre of literary prose developed in Greece at the turn of the fourth century BC. The earliest ones are preserved in the works of Plato and Xenophon and all involve Socrates as the p ...

, using the doctor-patient relationship as a means to persuade the patient to change his/her behavior. He believed it was necessary to appeal to a patient's intellect and reason in order to eliminate negative and self-destructive habits. He also maintained it was necessary for the physician to convince the patient of the irrationality of their own neurotic feelings and thought processes. Dubois was disdainful of hypnotic therapy. Dubois has been described as "the first significant modern proponent" of a rational therapy or

cognitive therapy Cognitive therapy (CT) is a type of psychotherapy developed by American psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck. CT is one therapeutic approach within the larger group of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) and was first expounded by Beck in the 1960s. Cogn ...

, and for some time in the early 20th century it had competed in popularity with Freudian

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

, especially in the USA, but is little known today. His best known written work was the 1904 ''Les psychonévroses et leur traitement moral'', which was later translated into English as "Psychic Treatment of Nervous Disorders (The Psychoneuroses and Their Moral Treatment)". The preface of this book was written by his friend,

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

Joseph Jules Dejerine Joseph Jules Dejerine (3 August 1849 – 26 February 1917), was a French neurologist. Biography Joseph Jules Dejerine was born to French parents in Geneva, Switzerland, where his father was a carriage proprietor. During the Franco-Prussian War ...

(1849–1917). Another influential publication by Dubois was a "mind over matter" treatise titled ''De l'influence de l'esprit sur le corps''. Dubois was also an editor of

Constantin von Monakow Constantin von Monakow (4 November 1853 – 19 October 1930) was a Russian-Swiss neuropathologist who was a native of Bobretsovo in the Vologda Governorate. He studied at the University of Zurich while working as an assistant at the Burghölzli I ...

's ''Schweizer Archiv für Neurologie und Psychiatrie'' (Swiss Archive for Neurology and Psychiatry).

References

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AntiQbook, Psychic Treatment of Nervous Disorders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubois, Paul Charles 1848 births 1918 deaths People from La Chaux-de-Fonds Swiss psychiatrists University of Bern alumni Academic staff of the University of Bern