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In a message dated 9/25/01 9:39:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
> Eliot did, however, have great respect for Vittoz, whom he consulted in
> Geneva and whose methods presumably helped Eliot recover from his
> breakdown. I have not been able to determine what Vittoz would have
> called himself, but surely not a psychoanalyst. He had a very rigid plan
> for
> correcting what was considered neurasthenia. His book is available (in
> libraries--no doubt not in print) describing it.
> Nancy
>
What I'm getting from the letters is that Vittoz appealed to him because it
didn't sound like Freudian psychoanalysis. As private as Eliot seems to have
been, I can see why he might have had an aversion to a form of therapy that
depends on the patient revealing his innermost thoughts and fantasies. The
Vittoz method is still used in France, and what I've been able to gather from
people who call themselves practitioners is that it's fairly close to what's
now called trancendental meditation with (my opinion) a dose of Norman
Vincent Peale thrown in. I've just ordered Vittoz's book, but haven't yet
received it. Took a long time to find an English translation, and I really
didn't want to struggle through the French. In English, it's called Treatment
of Neuraesthenia by means of Brain Control. And you're right--one might find
out from the book what he called himself. Do you think Vittoz could have
been the model for Sir Henry?
According to Valerie Eliot, Scofield Thayer, the editor of the Dial, had some
sort of breakdown, was treated by Freud personally, and after that had to be
confined in a private sanitarium for the rest of his life. Joyce's daughter
was treated by Jung, who couldn't make any headway with her schizophrenia.
She too had to be permanently placed in a sanitarium. Eliot seems to have
been sceptical of Freud long before these unfortunate events. But I don't
think they could have increased his confidence in the major forms of
psychoanalytic therapy at that time.
pat
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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial Narrow" LANG="0"><B>In a message dated 9/25/01 9:39:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes:
<BR>
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"></B>
<BR><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Eliot did, however, have great respect for Vittoz, whom he consulted in
<BR>Geneva and whose methods presumably helped Eliot recover from his
<BR>breakdown. I have not been able to determine what Vittoz would have
<BR>called himself, but surely not a psychoanalyst. He had a very rigid plan for
<BR>correcting what was considered neurasthenia. His book is available (in
<BR>libraries--no doubt not in print) describing it.
<BR>Nancy
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BR>
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">What I'm getting from the letters is that Vittoz appealed to him because it didn't sound like Freudian psychoanalysis. As private as Eliot seems to have been, I can see why he might have had an aversion to a form of therapy that depends on the patient revealing his innermost thoughts and fantasies. The Vittoz method is still used in France, and what I've been able to gather from people who call themselves practitioners is that it's fairly close to what's now called trancendental meditation with (my opinion) a dose of Norman Vincent Peale thrown in. I've just ordered Vittoz's book, but haven't yet received it. Took a long time to find an English translation, and I really didn't want to struggle through the French. In English, it's called <U>Treatment of Neuraesthenia by means of Brain Control</U>. And you're right--one might find out from the book what he called himself. Do you think Vittoz could have been the model for Sir Henry?
<BR>
<BR>According to Valerie Eliot, Scofield Thayer, the editor of the Dial, had some sort of breakdown, was treated by Freud personally, and after that had to be confined in a private sanitarium for the rest of his life. Joyce's daughter was treated by Jung, who couldn't make any headway with her schizophrenia. She too had to be permanently placed in a sanitarium. Eliot seems to have been sceptical of Freud long before these unfortunate events. But I don't think they could have increased his confidence in the major forms of psychoanalytic therapy at that time.
<BR>
<BR>pat
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