During free association, a patient is encouraged to

During free association, a patient is encouraged to

• A. Concentrate on a single topic.
• B. Describe only dream content.
• C. Say whatever comes into his or her mind.
• D. Avoid discussing emotions.

Answer: (C)

Free association is a psychoanalytic technique where the patient says whatever comes to mind with minimal censorship. The idea is to bypass conscious defenses and bring unconscious thoughts and feelings into awareness, allowing patterns, conflicts, and motivations to surface for interpretation. That’s why saying whatever comes into the mind is the best description of the method. Concentrating on a single topic would restrict spontaneous thoughts. Describing only dream content is a feature of dream analysis, not free association. Avoiding emotions would limit exploration of underlying feelings, which contradicts the purpose of the technique.

Free association is a psychoanalytic technique where the patient says whatever comes to mind with minimal censorship. The idea is to bypass conscious defenses and bring unconscious thoughts and feelings into awareness, allowing patterns, conflicts, and motivations to surface for interpretation. That’s why saying whatever comes into the mind is the best description of the method. Concentrating on a single topic would restrict spontaneous thoughts. Describing only dream content is a feature of dream analysis, not free association. Avoiding emotions would limit exploration of underlying feelings, which contradicts the purpose of the technique.