Famous French Psychiatrists

Psychiatrist R. D. Laing was known for his different perspective on mental illnesses, particularly psychosis. Known as anti-psychiatry, his theory of resolving mental ailments opposed the age-old shock therapy. His written works include The Divided Self. He was also a talented poet and had fathered 10 children by four women.

Frantz Fanon was a French-West Indian born in Martinique, a former French colony. A skilled psychiatrist and physician, he realized the impact of colonialism on the human mind while treating French soldiers and Algerians. The author of books such as The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon supported the Algerian independence movement.

Bénédict Morel was a French psychiatrist born in Austria. He was abandoned by his parents and had a difficult childhood. He worked hard to earn a medical doctorate and worked alongside psychiatrist Jean-Pierre Falret. He soon became an influential psychiatrist himself and was a key figure in the field of degeneration theory in the mid-19th century.