free association

free association   n.   A spontaneous, logically unconstrained and undirected association of ideas, emotions, and feelings. A psychoanalytic technique in which a patient's articulation of free associations is encouraged in order to reveal unconscious thoughts and emotions, such as traumatic experiences that have been repressed.

Main Entry: free association
Function: noun
1 a : the expression (as by speaking or writing) of the content of consciousness without censorship as an aid ingaining access to unconscious processes especially in psychoanalysis b : the reporting of the first thought that comes to mind in response to a given stimulus (as a word)
2 : an idea or image elicited by free association
3 : a method using free association

free association n.
A psychoanalytic technique in which a patient verbalizes the passing contents of his or her mind without reservation. The verbalized conflicts that emerge constitute resistances that are the basis of the psychoanalyst's interpretations.