Authors
Key authors in the history of psychology and psychoanalysis.
85 authors
- Aaron T. Beck 1921–2021, USA
American psychiatrist, founder of cognitive therapy. Developed treatment models for depression and anxiety based on cognitive restructuring.
1 book - Abraham Maslow 1908–1970, USA
American psychologist, founder of humanistic psychology. Known for the hierarchy of needs and the concept of self-actualization.
1 book - Albert Bandura 1925–2021, Canada / USA
Canadian-American psychologist. Creator of social learning theory and the concept of self-efficacy.
1 book - Albert Ellis 1913–2007, USA
American psychologist, creator of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). Argued that irrational beliefs, not events themselves, cause emotional disturbance.
1 book - Alexander Luria 1902–1977, USSR
Soviet neuropsychologist, founder of modern neuropsychology. Investigated higher brain functions and developed methods of neuropsychological rehabilitation.
1 book - Alfred Adler 1870–1937, Austria
Austrian psychiatrist, founder of individual psychology. Introduced the concepts of inferiority complex and lifestyle.
2 books - Alice Miller 1923–2010, Switzerland
Swiss psychologist and psychoanalyst of Polish origin. Exposed the destructive effects of authoritarian parenting and child abuse on emotional development.
2 books - André Green 1927–2012, France
French psychoanalyst of Egyptian origin. Developed the dead mother concept and explored borderline states between neurosis and psychosis.
2 books - Anna Freud 1895–1982, Austria / United Kingdom
Austro-British psychoanalyst, daughter of Sigmund Freud. Pioneer of child psychoanalysis and the systematization of defense mechanisms.
1 book - Antonio Damasio 1944, Portugal / USA
Portuguese-American neuroscientist. Demonstrated the fundamental role of emotions in rational decision-making and consciousness.
1 book - B.F. Skinner 1904–1990, USA
American psychologist, leading figure in radical behaviorism. Developed the concept of operant conditioning.
2 books - Bessel van der Kolk 1943, Netherlands / USA
Dutch-American psychiatrist, pioneer in trauma research. Demonstrated how trauma is stored in the body and affects the brain.
1 book - Carl Gustav Jung 1875–1961, Switzerland
Swiss psychiatrist, founder of analytical psychology. Introduced concepts of archetypes, the collective unconscious, and psychological types.
3 books - Carl Rogers 1902–1987, USA
American psychologist, founder of client-centered therapy. Emphasized the importance of empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard.
1 book - Christopher Bollas 1943, USA / United Kingdom
British-American psychoanalyst. Known for the concepts of the transformational object, the unthought known, and the idiom of the self.
3 books - Daniel Goleman 1946, USA
American psychologist and science journalist. Popularized the concept of emotional intelligence.
1 book - Daniel Kahneman 1934–2024, Israel / USA
Israeli-American psychologist, Nobel laureate in Economics. Pioneer in the study of cognitive biases and decision-making.
1 book - Daniel Stern 1934–2012, USA
American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. Pioneer in the study of mother-infant interaction and infant subjectivity from birth.
1 book - Didier Anzieu 1923–1999, France
French psychoanalyst. Developed the concept of the skin-ego (Moi-peau) as a fundamental psychic envelope for the constitution of the self.
1 book - Donald Kalsched 1943, USA
American Jungian psychoanalyst. Described how the psyche's self-care system protects the traumatized self but also imprisons it.
1 book - Donald Meltzer 1922–2004, USA / United Kingdom
American-British psychoanalyst, student of Klein and Bion. Explored aesthetic experience, the claustrum, and autistic processes.
1 book - Donald Winnicott 1896–1971, United Kingdom
British pediatrician and psychoanalyst. Introduced concepts of the transitional object, the good-enough mother, and the true and false self.
1 book - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross 1926–2004, Switzerland / USA
Swiss-American psychiatrist. Revolutionized understanding of death and dying with her five-stage model.
1 book - Erich Fromm 1900–1980, Germany / USA
German-American psychoanalyst and social philosopher. Explored the intersection of psychoanalysis, sociology, and humanistic philosophy.
3 books - Erik Erikson 1902–1994, Germany / USA
German-American psychoanalyst. Proposed the theory of psychosocial development with eight stages across the lifespan.
1 book - Françoise Dolto 1908–1988, France
French psychoanalyst specializing in childhood. Argued that the child is a subject from birth and revolutionized pediatrics and education in France.
1 book - Frantz Fanon 1925–1961, Martinique / Algeria
Martiniquais-Algerian psychiatrist and philosopher. Analyzed the psychological effects of colonialism and racism on the subjectivity of the oppressed.
1 book - Fritz Perls 1893–1970, Germany / USA
German-American psychiatrist, founder of Gestalt therapy. Emphasized present-moment experience and bodily awareness.
1 book - Gabor Maté 1944, Canada
Hungarian-Canadian physician and author. Specialist in the connection between stress, trauma, and illness, and in treating addictions from a compassionate perspective.
3 books - Gregory Bateson 1904–1980, United Kingdom / USA
British-American anthropologist and cyberneticist. Formulated the double bind theory of schizophrenia and established the foundations of systemic therapy.
1 book - Hanna Segal 1918–2011, United Kingdom
Polish-British psychoanalyst, student of Melanie Klein. Contributed to the theory of symbol formation and the application of psychoanalysis to art.
1 book - Harry Harlow 1905–1981, USA
American psychologist. His experiments with macaques demonstrated the fundamental importance of contact and maternal affection for healthy development.
1 book - Harry Stack Sullivan 1892–1949, USA
American psychiatrist, founder of interpersonal theory. Proposed that personality is formed and exists only in the context of interpersonal relationships.
1 book - Heinz Hartmann 1894–1970, Austria / USA
Austrian-American psychoanalyst, founder of ego psychology. Proposed that the ego has autonomous functions independent of drive conflict.
1 book - Heinz Kohut 1913–1981, Austria / USA
Austro-American psychoanalyst, founder of self psychology. Reformulated narcissism as a normal part of development.
2 books - Ira Brenner 1951, USA
American psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, specialist in dissociation and psychic trauma. Made significant contributions to the psychoanalytic understanding of dissociative states and complex trauma.
2 books - Irvin D. Yalom 1931, USA
American psychiatrist and existential psychotherapist. Prolific author of textbooks and novels about psychotherapy.
3 books - Ivan Pavlov 1849–1936, Russia
Russian physiologist, Nobel laureate. Discovered classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs, establishing the foundations of behaviorist psychology.
1 book - Jacques Lacan 1901–1981, France
French psychoanalyst. Reinterpreted Freud through linguistic structuralism, introducing the registers of the Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real.
1 book - James Hillman 1926–2011, USA
American psychologist, founder of archetypal psychology. Proposed a return to soul (anima mundi) as the basis of psychology.
2 books - Jean Laplanche 1924–2012, France
French psychoanalyst. Developed the general seduction theory and co-authored the reference dictionary of psychoanalysis with Pontalis.
1 book - Jean Piaget 1896–1980, Switzerland
Swiss psychologist, creator of the theory of cognitive development. Described stages of children's thinking from sensorimotor to formal operational.
1 book - Jeffrey Seinfeld 1946, USA
American psychoanalyst and clinical social worker (NYU). Specialist in object relations theory (Fairbairn/Winnicott tradition) applied to work with schizoid patients and severe personality disorders. Occupies a peculiar position: too clinical for academics, too psychoanalytic for mainstream social work, too Fairbairnian for Kleinians, and too schizoid for neurotypicals. His books — on inner emptiness and attachment to bad objects — rarely appear on official reading lists; readers find them only when searching for something very specific. A book about invisibility that is itself invisible.
2 books - Jennifer Freyd 1957, USA
American psychologist, creator of betrayal trauma theory and the DARVO concept (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender). Researches how interpersonal and institutional betrayal generates trauma.
2 books - Jessica Benjamin 1946, USA
American psychoanalyst and feminist. Developed an intersubjective theory of mutual recognition and domination in relationships.
1 book - John Bowlby 1907–1990, United Kingdom
British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, creator of attachment theory. Demonstrated the importance of early mother-child bonding.
1 book - Joyce McDougall 1920–2011, New Zealand / France
New Zealand-French psychoanalyst. Explored somatic expressions of psychic conflict and creativity as an analytic process.
2 books - Judith Herman 1942, USA
American psychiatrist, pioneer in the study of complex trauma. Proposed the concept of complex PTSD and a three-stage model of recovery.
1 book - Julia Kristeva 1941, Bulgaria / France
Franco-Bulgarian psychoanalyst, philosopher, and linguist. Developed the theory of abjection, semanalysis, and the notion of intertextuality, connecting psychoanalysis and linguistics.
3 books - Karen Horney 1885–1952, Germany / USA
German-American psychoanalyst. Critiqued Freud's view of feminine psychology and developed the theory of the real self and the idealized self.
1 book - Kay Redfield Jamison 1946, USA
American clinical psychologist, specialist in bipolar disorder. Described her own experience with the illness, breaking stigma.
1 book - Lev Vygotsky 1896–1934, USSR
Soviet psychologist, founder of cultural-historical psychology. Introduced the concept of the zone of proximal development.
1 book - Margaret Mahler 1897–1985, Hungary / USA
Hungarian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. Described the separation-individuation process as a fundamental stage of child development.
1 book - Marsha Linehan 1943, USA
American psychologist, creator of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Revolutionized the treatment of borderline personality disorder.
2 books - Martin Seligman 1942, USA
American psychologist, founder of positive psychology. Known for research on learned helplessness and optimism.
2 books - Mary Ainsworth 1913–1999, Canada / USA
Canadian-American psychologist. Developed the Strange Situation procedure to classify infant attachment types.
1 book - Melanie Klein 1882–1960, Austria / United Kingdom
Austro-British psychoanalyst, pioneer of child psychoanalysis. Developed object relations theory and the concepts of paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions.
1 book - Michael Balint 1896–1970, Hungary / United Kingdom
Hungarian-British psychoanalyst. Described the basic fault as an early relational deficit and created Balint groups for physicians.
1 book - Michael Eigen 1936, USA
American psychoanalyst, known for explorations of mystical experience, madness, and faith within the psychoanalytic framework. Student of Bion and Winnicott.
3 books - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 1934–2021, Hungary / USA
Hungarian-American psychologist. Developed the concept of flow — the state of total immersion in an activity.
1 book - Milton Erickson 1901–1980, USA
American psychiatrist and psychotherapist, pioneer of modern hypnotherapy. Developed indirect techniques and strategic brief therapy.
1 book - Murray Bowen 1913–1990, USA
American psychiatrist, founder of family systems theory. Described how emotional patterns are transmitted across generations.
1 book - Nancy McWilliams 1950, USA
American psychoanalyst and professor. Author of widely used clinical manuals on psychoanalytic diagnosis and case formulation.
2 books - Oliver Sacks 1933–2015, United Kingdom / USA
British-American neurologist and writer. Popularized clinical neurology through fascinating stories of patients with extraordinary neurological conditions.
1 book - Otto Kernberg 1928, Chile / USA
Austro-American psychoanalyst. Pioneer in psychoanalytic treatment of severe personality disorders, especially borderline and narcissistic.
2 books - Paul Watzlawick 1921–2007, Austria / USA
Austro-American psychologist and philosopher. Pioneer of human communication theory and brief therapy.
2 books - Peter Fonagy 1952, United Kingdom
Hungarian-British psychoanalyst and psychologist. Developer of mentalization theory and mentalization-based treatment (MBT).
1 book - Philip Bromberg 1931–2020, USA
American relational psychoanalyst. Proposed a view of the self as a multiplicity of states, and explored dissociation as both normal and pathological.
1 book - Philip Zimbardo 1933, USA
American social psychologist, known for the Stanford prison experiment. Researched how situations influence human behavior.
1 book - R.D. Laing 1927–1989, United Kingdom
Scottish psychiatrist, central figure of anti-psychiatry. Described the schizoid experience as a survival strategy in an impossible family environment.
2 books - Robert Hare 1934, Canada
Canadian psychologist, world's leading researcher on psychopathy. Creator of the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R), the standard instrument for assessing psychopathy.
1 book - Rollo May 1909–1994, USA
American existential psychologist. Integrated European existential philosophy with American psychotherapy, exploring anxiety, freedom, and creativity.
2 books - Salvador Minuchin 1921–2017, Argentina / USA
Argentine-American psychiatrist, creator of structural family therapy. Demonstrated how family structure influences individual pathology.
1 book - Sándor Ferenczi 1873–1933, Hungary
Hungarian psychoanalyst, one of Freud's closest collaborators. Pioneer in exploring trauma, intersubjectivity, and mutual analysis.
1 book - Sigmund Freud 1856–1939, Austria
Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis. Developed theories of the unconscious, defense mechanisms, and dream interpretation.
5 books - Stanley Milgram 1933–1984, USA
American social psychologist, known for his experiments on obedience to authority. Demonstrated the capacity of ordinary people to inflict harm under social pressure.
1 book - Stephen Mitchell 1946–2000, USA
American psychoanalyst, co-founder of relational psychoanalysis. Integrated object relations theory, intersubjectivity, and self psychology.
1 book - Thomas Ogden 1946, USA
American psychoanalyst. Known for the notion of the analytic third and his explorations of primitive areas of experience.
2 books - Thomas Szasz 1920–2012, Hungary / USA
Hungarian-American psychiatrist, central figure of anti-psychiatry. Argued that mental illness is a myth and that psychiatry functions as social control.
1 book - Viktor Frankl 1905–1997, Austria
Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, founder of logotherapy. Holocaust survivor who described the search for meaning as the fundamental driving force of life.
1 book - Virginia Satir 1916–1988, USA
American psychotherapist, pioneer of family therapy. Developed a model centered on communication and self-esteem within family systems.
1 book - W.R.D. Fairbairn 1889–1964, United Kingdom
Scottish psychoanalyst, founder of object relations theory. Proposed that libido seeks objects (relationships), not drive discharge.
1 book - Wilfred Bion 1897–1979, United Kingdom
British psychoanalyst, pioneer of group work and theory of thinking. Developed concepts of container-contained and alpha function.
2 books - Wilhelm Reich 1897–1957, Austria / USA
Austrian-American psychoanalyst. Developed the theory of character armor and vegetotherapy, a precursor to body psychotherapy.
1 book - William James 1842–1910, USA
American philosopher and psychologist, considered the father of American psychology. Founded the first psychology laboratory in the US and developed pragmatism.
1 book