[Personal contact between physician and patient as therapy in the 18th century]

If the intimacy of the private conversation between the doctor and his patient cannot be penetrated by any external observer, it remains that historical, social, and cultural factors around this meeting can be examined and contextualized. With this perspective, this publication presents a reflection on the context of the therapeutic relationship in the second part of the 18th century. This study is based on about 1,300 consultations written to Dr. Tissot, famous Swiss physician who practised between 1750 and 1797. Most of these accounts, coming from patients or their lay mediators, show how the authors perceived the figure of the doctor, and their relation to money, time, and space. All of these elements are considered to determine the nature of this relationship.