Life and Creative Work of Fyodor Vasilyuk: Overcoming the Schism in Academic and Practical Psychology

Abstract

In this paper we reflect on the creative legacy of F.Ye. Vasilyuk. Understanding psychotherapy, considered as a multi-level psychotechnical system; educational projects; organizational, publishing and other activities of Fyodor Vasilyuk in the field of psychological counselling and psychotherapy — all can be thought of as an integral whole, as a multidimensional solution to the problem of the schism in academic psychology and psychological practice. Here we trace the following three lines in Vasilyuk’s work: from practice to science, from science to practice, and the line of integrating science and practice in education. The first line, “from practice to science”, is analyzed (by V.K. Zaretsky) in relation to how understanding psychotherapy has enriched the Russian tradition of exploring thinking through solving creative tasks. The second line, “from practice to science”, is reviewed (by T.D. Kryagina) in the context of studies of empathy in cultural-historical psychology and their impacts on the development of understanding psychotherapy and educational process. In the “education” line, A.B. Kholmogorova presents a brief outline of the history of the first ever Russian social institution for training qualified practical psychologists.