On the Problem of Psychological Interpretation and Exploration of Symbol in Psychotherapy

All existing psychotherapeutical approaches to the understanding of symbol are limited by the conceptual frames of particular schools of thought and thus cannot provide the grounds for a universal psychological interpretation of symbol in the context of aims and tasks of the psychotherapeutic practice. The article suggests that cultural-historical psychology may act as a promising methodological foundation for the exploration of symbol in psychotherapy since it provides the opportunity to understand the 'work' of symbol as a psychological means in the client/therapist relationship. The paper describes an approach to the scientific psychological investiga¬tion and understanding of symbol that interlocks the general philosophical, psychological and psychotechnical levels. This approach enables one to consider symbol as a means of meaning-related transformation of con¬sciousness and to regard therapeutical techniques that employ symbols as means of facilitating the dynamics of meaning processes. Through interiorization of the means of using a symbol the client creates his/her own inner methods of generating meanings that help change his/her attitude to a difficult situation or life on the whole.

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