In general the term Psychoanalysis has come to be equated with all theories and practices surrounding psychotherapy. Although it is a familiar term to the field of psychology it seems to be viewed differently by all. Some regard it as a mystical all powerful technique for revealing ones inner motives and thoughts. Others however, regard it as the practice as frivolous and a waste of time. (Fishcer&Greenberg, 1977. 273)

Although the ideas surrounding psychoanalysis may differ the methods and techniques used for therapy are universally known. We are going to take a look of four of the different methods used in psychotherapy. Probably the best known methods is that of free association. In the use of free association the therapist allows the client to say whatever pops into his mind, no matter how illogical or ridiculous it may seem. By doing this the therapist is hoping that the client will abandon all normal forms of censoring, or editing their thoughts. By doing this it is hoped that what the client is saying will start with one association and lead to another deeper meaning in the unconscious. (Parrott, 1997. 101,102) By suspending the preconceptions of what the client is trying to say and looking deeper the therapist can follow themes and discover underlying meanings of his communications and behavior. (Fischer, Greeenberg, 1977. 278) Included in the idea of free association comes the term Freudian slip. This occurs when a person is for instance in mid sentence and they replace the word that would naturally come next with a word that may sound similar. Freud believed that this was not just a natural slip of the tongue but that it had a hidden wish or meaning.

Another type of therapy that is related to free association is transference. It is proposed that over the course of doing free association therapy a strong bond is formed between the client and the counselor. As time passes the client is believed to express feelings to the therapist of how they once felt towards their parents, thus "transferring" the feelings. This is believed to show how the clients past feelings are being acted out inappropriately in the present. (Fischer&Greenberg 1977 278)

Another area that is involved in the psychotherapy process is Resistance. Although a client may feel the need to change and truly desire help for themselves through the therapist many things can enter the picture to alter this change; these things are referred to as resistance. For example: missed appointments, rambling on about the weather or economy or any other distraction that seems to keep the client from really focusing on the real issues is considered resistance. A successful therapist however can bring repressed conflicts to the surface and helped he client work through this and get back on track ( Parrott, 1997 103).

The last technique of therapy we are going to look at is that of dream analysis. Freud believed that dreams have a definite meaning although it maybe disguised, he believed they had a great link to discovering the unconscious. Each fragment of a dream will lead quickly to the disclosure of unconscious memories and fantasies and then on to associations of other topics. He applied the technique of free association to the interpretation of dreams. He brought out that a dram is like a psychoneurotic symptom, it is the unconscious expression of a fantasy which cannot be thought about in waking life unless it is brought out with the technique of free association (Hendrick, 195818,19).

Freud believed that he could use both the ideas brought our in dreams as well as an interpretation of certain objects to help determine what was going on in the unconscious mind and bring that out to help the client. The dream is an unconscious wish to evil to just be brought out in open. The wish is even decoded from the dreamer, it is a way to vent without even the dreamer being aware of the fact of what he is wishing for, since the client would not even belief that he was capable of such urges. This was one more technique that Freud believed would allow the client to see into his subconscious, and would allow the therapist to determine what exactly the client was struggling with. (Fishcer& Greenberg 1977 21,22).

It is clear to see that the overall focus of therapy in the area of psychoanalysis is to get the client to share things that appear on the surface to unlock what is going on deeper in the unconscious. By doing this it is hoped to help the client achieve insight into the cause of there problems. Insight alone is not enough though, in the final stages of treatment the therapist will encourage the client to apply there newly discovered insights into there Eveready lives. " The whole point is to think, perceive, feel, and behave differently" (Parrott, 1997 103).