Free association is a technique used in both
psychoanalysis and
psychoanalytical
psychotherapy. Devised by
Sigmund Freud as an alternative to
hypnosis, patients are encouraged
to give complete freedom to their thoughts and
feelings, and to voice these irrespective of their
perceived importance or potential to embarrass.
Traditionally, the patient lies on a
couch to help induce a state of
relaxation, although rumour has it that Freud adopted
this tactic because he could not bear to have his
patients look at him!
The free association method is supposed to help surface
repressed thoughts and feelings so that the patient or
analysand can work through them and integrate them into
their day-to-day life. The technique presupposes that all
memories are arranged in a single interrelated network, and
that ultimately the patient will stumble across the
repressed hidden memory. Deborah Britzman (2003) describes
free association
oxymoronically
as “both a particular narrative and the resistance to
making
narrative particular”.
