<p>At the beginning the author briefly outlines the problem situation that has arisen through the reform of the Psychotherapist Act for the psychoanalytical training institutes. Against this background he addresses the question where the reservation and scepticism of psychoanalysts against a participation in the public healthcare system originate from. For this he sees two roots: the nature of the analytical profession and the history of psychoanalysis. Following a section on the special features of the psychoanalytical activity, four historical milestones in psychoanalysis are discussed: the Berlin Outpatient Clinic of the Weimar Period, the period of National Socialism, the introduction of the Guideline Therapy in 1967 and the Psychotherapist Act from 1999. The text finishes with a brief perspective of the institutional altercations that are in store for psychoanalysis in view of the reform.</p>