This paper has three objectives: first, to examine the historical foundations of the social representation of French physiotherapy; second, to explore the holistic dimension of physiotherapy care addressed by physiotherapists in our survey; third, to disseminate the research design in social science. A literary text by a founder of French physiotherapy was transcribed and examined by lexicometry. The analysis revealed the avant-garde philosophy of care developed by Dolto in the 70s: a merged model of care and a unique evidence of systems thinking that distinguishes the empirical practice of professionals working according to a functional rehabilitation logic. We argue that the introduction of systems theory into the initial or continuing education of these practitioners could make its bio-psycho-social application more effective. This calls for further research on rehabilitation practices in other cultural contexts and provides a theoretical basis and argument for the development of lexicometry in the social sciences.