ABSTRACT
Pierre Janet had become aware of the limitations of his original 1909 hierarchy that was based on the concept of “tension psychologique”. “Tension” and its opposite “detente” had a different meaning for Janet from the contemporary one of unhealthy stress/anxiety and its opposite, relaxation. Janet was in fact describing symptoms of personality disorders, chronic, empty depression, and dysphoria, what we understand as disorders of the self. It is interesting to note how the reflective capacity deemed by most contemporary therapies as one of the best markers of psychological maturity and health is situated midway on Janet’s hierarchy. He was seeing limitations to his hierarchy of conducts. He concluded that “there is no fundamental difference between the conduct of a healthy person and the conduct of a sick one”, with everyone functioning at, and shifting on, the dynamic continuum of psychological functioning, depending on circumstances.
