<P> In free association , psychoanalytic patients are invited to relate whatever comes into their minds during the analytic session , and not to censor their thoughts . This technique is intended to help the patient learn more about what he or she thinks and feels , in an atmosphere of non-judgmental curiosity and acceptance . Psychoanalysis assumes that people are often conflicted between their need to learn about themselves , and their ( conscious or unconscious ) fears of and defenses against change and self - exposure . The method of free association has no linear or preplanned agenda , but works by intuitive leaps and linkages which may lead to new personal insights and meanings : ' the logic of association is a form of unconscious thinking ' . </P>
the technique of free association was intended to
help the patient learn more about what he or she thinks and feels