(freie Assoziation)
** A therapeutic technique in psychoanalysis developed by Freud, Sigmund as a means of gaining access to the unconscious thoughts underpinning dreams, fantasies, and symptoms. The technique consists in asking the analysand to say whatever comes to mind during the course of analysis without regard for relevance or fear of embarrassment. Thus, it is free in the sense of being free from censorship and constraint; its specific purpose is to eliminate voluntary responses to questions, which by their very nature, aim to control the flow of information. Freud initially used hypnosis with his patients in order to try to access unconscious thoughts, but soon replaced it with free association, which he found much more effective.