(free association) looks for information triggered in the subconscious, not through the conscious choice of the topic to discuss, but rather based instead on emotional or programmed response. This is the concept commonly used by Sigmund Freud who was the architect of psychoanalytic therapy.
Sigmund Freud used free association to help his patient discover unconscious thoughts and feelings that had been repressed or ignored. In the process, when Freud`s patients became aware of these unconscious thought or feelings, they were better able to manage them or change problematic behaviours (Kring, Johnson, Davidson & Neale, 2010).