The work has become a classic, and has been credited with correcting older estimates of Freud's level of originality and encouraging scholars to question the scientific validity of psychoanalysis.

Ellenberger presents a history of dynamic psychiatry, providing discussions of figures such as doctor Franz Anton Mesmer, Sigmund Freud (the founder of psychoanalysis), psychologist Pierre Janet, psychotherapist Alfred Adler, and psychiatrist Carl Jung.

"[5] Psychologist Hans Eysenck called The Discovery of the Unconscious a "classic" and an "excellent book which unveils many of the myths which have accumulated around Freud".

[6] Critic Frederick Crews considered the book part of a body of research demonstrating that Freud "was misled by his drive toward heroic fame."

Gay added that, "Though far from elegant, though opinionated and not always reliable in its quick judgments (such as its verdict that Freud was the quintessential Viennese), it is a rich source of information.