Where Do Free Associations Lead?

It’s hard to argue that free association isn’t one of the single most important elements of psychoanalysis. In 1892, Sigmund Freud first applied the method of free association, asking a patient to say everything that came to mind about her symptom. And ever since, analysts the world over have kept using this same technique in session.

There’s no need to worry that what you say will sound illogical, disconnected, insignificant, or like nonsense. Just start talking… And in the presence of the analyst, try to “see connections, structures, and relations — trying to find and recognize meaning exactly where, at first glance, it seems absent.” As A. Kris writes in one of his papers, the focus gradually shifts toward the inner world, and “the silent inner monologue gives way to words spoken aloud.” In sessions, it matters to pay attention to feelings, sensations, memories, thoughts — the analyst gathers and holds on to every one of these fragments, piece by piece, trying to understand what keeps slipping past the analysand’s own awareness in their speech.

There’s no way to know in advance where your free associations will lead, or which corner of your inner world they’ll crack open. But in the end, this method “serves the therapeutic goal of easing the intensity of various symptoms and relieving suffering.” A person’s speech is a priceless, inexhaustible source of material for the work.