A patient free-associates, reports dreams, and gradually becomes aware of previously unrecognized conflicts. Psychoanalysis is the therapeutic approach and theory of mind developed by Sigmund Freud that emphasizes unconscious processes, early experience, and the interpretation of mental productions.

Classical technique involves frequent sessions, use of the couch, and a focus on transference—the re-experiencing of past relationship patterns with the analyst. Later developments, including object relations and contemporary relational approaches, retain the emphasis on unconscious meaning while modifying technique and theory. Empirical support varies across specific claims; some core ideas have been revised or abandoned, while the clinical value of exploring implicit relational patterns remains influential.

Psychoanalysis shaped twentieth-century culture and still informs many forms of depth psychotherapy. Its lasting contribution is the insistence that much of mental life operates outside awareness and that bringing it into awareness can relieve suffering.

The past that is not remembered is often repeated in the present relationship.