Psychotherapy as a New Anthropologic Practice

The paper analyses psychotherapy as a new anthropologic practice of the postmodern era; it emerged in the process of the European philosophical and cultural revolution of the 20th century which had cleared the way for hermeneutic paradigm. The author leans upon the type of historical analysis of discursive practices developed by M. Foucault and explores the moment of 'mutation' of the classical discourse related with the emergence of psychoanalysis the mutation that gave rise to the whole range of modern psychoanalytical schools. The unity of psychotherapy can thus be found not in the theories and methods, but rather in the general communicative structure which represents a hermeneutic dialogue. The reasons of such discursive 'mutation' that are related to S. Freud's discovery of the symbolic meaning of symptoms are discussed as well.