�mile Cou� de la Ch�taigneraie (26 February 1857 - 2 July 1926) was a French psychologist and pharmacist who introduced a popular method of psychotherapy and self-improvement based on optimistic autosuggestion.

Considered by Charles Baudouin to represent a second Nancy School, Cou� treated many patients in groups and free of charge.

The application of his mantra-like conscious autosuggestion, "Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better" (French: Tous les jours � tous points de vue je vais de mieux en mieux) is called Cou�ism or the Cou� method. Some American newspapers quoted it differently, "Day by day, in every way, I'm getting better and better." The Cou� method centered on a routine repetition of this particular expression according to a specified ritual--preferably as many as twenty times a day, and especially at the beginning and at the end of each day. When asked whether or not he thought of himself as a healer, Cou� often stated that "I have never cured anyone in my life. All I do is show people how they can cure themselves." Unlike a commonly held belief that a strong conscious will constitutes the best path to success, Cou� maintained that curing some of our troubles requires a change in our unconscious thought, which can be achieved only by using our imagination.

Although stressing that he was not primarily a healer but one who taught others to heal themselves, Cou� claimed to have effected organic changes through autosuggestion. (wikipedia.org)