Free association in psychoanalytic psychotherapy

Abstract In this paper, I claim that Freud's original conception of the free association method—based on the principles of free association by the patient complemented by evenly hovering attention by the analyst, the mutual exploration of the patient's resistance to free association and the emergence of transference as a key element in the patient's resistance—has largely dropped out of use in the clinical thinking and practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapists. I bolster this claim by analysing a number of Clinical Commentaries from the British Journal of Psychotherapy, which show that the free association method has been largely replaced by a clinical method based on the idea of an interpersonal relationship. I argue that there would be significant clinical benefits to both patient and therapist by reinstating a method based on free association. Patient and therapist would have a clearer idea of how the therapy works. The exploration of the patient's resistance to free association creates a strong sense of cooperative working. And the initial emergence of a transference picture of the therapist as contributing to the patient's resistance establishes a solid foundation for future transference interpretations by the therapist.