Emile Coué

Émile Coué (February 26, 1857 – July 2, 1926) was a French psychologist and pharmacist who introduced a method of psychotherapy, healing, and self-improvement based on optimistic autosuggestion.

The application of his familiar conscious autosuggestion, "Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better" (Tous les jours à tous points de vue je vais de mieux en mieux), is the best known example of what is often called Couéism or the Coué method.

The Coué method depended on the routine repetition of such expressions, according to a specified ritual, at the beginning and the ending of each day.

Life and career
Coué was born in Troyes, France and came from old noble Breton stock. He learned hypnosis from Ambroise-Auguste Liébeault, the founder of Nancy School, and in 1913 Coué founded the Lorraine Society of Applied Psychology. His book Self-mastery through conscious autosuggestion caused a sensation on its publication in England (1920) and in the United States (1922).

Coué introduced a new method, the self-application of conscious autosuggestion. He modified the theory of Abbé Faria by proposing that for autosuggestion to flow from the mind, one has to feed it first. By consciously repeating words or images as self-suggestion to the subconscious mind, according to Coué, one could condition the mind, and the conditioned mind would produce a self-generated command when required.

Afterwards Johannes Schultz developed these theories as autogenic training.

He died in Nancy, France in 1926.

In popular culture

 * John Lennon included the Coué mantra in his lyrics for "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" on the album Double Fantasy.