[wheeler]

Has anyone ever done ‘free association ‘ therapy? Last night my T said that if I did more free association I would get 90% more out of therapy compared to what I’m getting now.

I know i edit a lot, I think that’s one of the reasons I prefer writing over talking. I can go over my words again and again til i feel right and I am comfortable with them. It also keeps me in my head which is always my go to.

I just can’t imagine speaking before really thinking it over and over first.

[Elio]

I do more free association in my writing than in therapy. I them am able to share what comes from that free association in therapy and try to figure out and explore what or why something came up in free association. For me, it has been a great way to hear what the gut is trying to say about something. I tend to keep whatever sounds right and let the rest float by.

I recommend doing it in some way as part of your therapy.

Thsts my therapy. It's very hard. I struggle. But I manage to get out what I need to in the end.

[winterblues17]

I'm sorry but what does free association therapy mean?

Just say whatever comes first. Ramble if you have too. That tends to lead to the deeper unconscious processes.

"Free association" is basically a concept originally coming from Freudian psychoanalysis. It's basically trying to follow the tracks that come automatically and naturally into our minds, moving from one thought or feeling to the next, from one image to the next, integrating into it whatever surfaces. My personal experience with it (I can do it very easily, sort of how my mind works by default and I organize my thoughts using logic, as much as I want, when I express them) is that perhaps it is most useful if we don't really have specific goals or even ideas what would be worthwhile to examine and focus on, but want to "fish in the dark" primarily. When I was in therapy (not only analytical), I found that I tended to use this kind of expression most of the time naturally in sessions and also in a lot of my writings to my Ts. But I got frustrated with it because, to me, it felt like aimless wandering, sort of an automatic distraction from what I should have really focused on and addressed specifically. I knew quite clearly what my main issues were, but often I would get into this free association-types endless rambles, just because it was interesting... it was an avoidance mechanism for me to tackle my problems head-on.

So, I would say it depends. If someone wants to explore without really knowing what to explore, it can be a good approach to bring things up. But if one has specific problems/goals, perhaps it is not the best method, or at least not using it excessively. I personally found it very enjoyable to do with a T who had a similar thinking style, but did not find it very productive for me as I do it by myself all the time already. It can certainly lead to all sorts of deeper spheres of the mind, for me the more important question is: what is most useful?

ETA: It is pretty much the equivalent of what is called "stream of consciousness" in writing, leaving it up for debate to what extent the "stream" is generated by conscious mental processes.

[wheeler]

I am as intrigued as I am scared to death about it. I’m afraid I’ll say something that i don’t want, and if I hold back that seems to defeat the purpose. Much to discuss with my T on Monday .

[Perna]

It does not have to be all-or-nothing like it seems. My T helped me a lot by just pointing out I was telling her "about" what had happened in the past, was telling her stories essentially, instead of being in real time and talking to her "now" and telling her about the feelings coming up "now" as we were talking. There was a time delay everywhere :-)

[Elio]

Even in my writing, I would be embarrassed by some of what images came to mind. One advantage of doing the association outside of session is the ability to decide when you are ready to share an association.

My T also calls it dreaming together.

[Wonderfalls]

Not sure exactly what this means either. I go from topic to topic at will. Early on my therapist used to tie everything together into a common theme. (Therapist does this magically and very satisfactorily in great TV series In Treatment) In later years he did it sometimes but by that time we may have been doing less intensive therapy.

[feileacan]

I'm in psychoanalysis where free association is supposed to be one main technique. However, I have never been able to free associate in a way I think it should ideally happen.

On the other hand, I think free association has many forms, some not that well distinguishable and so probably I am doing it in some form anyway. What I mean is that I never have a particular topic to talk about or address. Going in, I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen today or what we're going to talk about.

At the same time, I find the process of just following the train of thoughts (which is normally associated with free association) useless, for much of the same (and at the same time opposite) reasons as Xynesthesia - I think I might be prone to use it as a defence and stay on an intellectual level rather than ending up in an emotional level where I really need to do the work.

Therefore, I don't even bother trying and I rather try to find a way to get connected with emotional stuff and although I think it is a form of free association as well, it definitely isn't the one Freud described.

Btw, I've seen all the episodes of In Treatment series and although I liked it because I found it entertaining I think the therapist there was really mediocre, although not that bad as his supervisor.

[Fernwehxx]

I have done free association writing, which qorks well for me. Can't do it talking, tho,

Originally Posted by Mouse_62

Just say whatever comes first. Ramble if you have too. That tends to lead to the deeper unconscious processes.

ah so THAT'S why t never complains when I think I'm rambling!!

It also depends on a T being able to make sense of what we feels seems senseless.
For me, it's, far from being a defence against facing things head on. It's facing things that have gone into hiding. Thats what drives my fears in my every day life and which if I don't face, rander me powerless over my life.
My problems are a little deeper than just issues.