The cultural approach in psychotherapy

The article substantiates the appropriateness and productivity of cultural-historical approach in psychotherapy. The author presumes that if cultural-historical psychology is a general psychological theory, it is thus possible to interpret different psychological practices from its positions. He formulates the task of holistic analysis of psychotherapeutic techniques from the cultural-historical point of view. The article describes the psychoanalytic practice. It is shown that the specific psychological tool used in psychoanalysis is the construction of an individual myth. The author represents his attempt to apply the cultural-historical approach to constructing an original version of a psychotherapeutic technique. As an example of a psychotherapeutic technique he describes the method of working with a talisman. A talisman is considered a psychological tool that can evoke positive associations and therefore reduce the level of anxiety. This practice came as the result of the author's quest during his work with people who had experienced serious psychological traumas.