Sigmund Freud's therapeutic technique emphasized free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences as routes to insight. Which therapy is this?

• A. Cognitive therapy
• B. Psychoanalysis
• C. Humanistic therapy
• D. Biopsychosocial therapy

Answer: (B)

Freud’s approach aims to uncover unconscious influences shaping thoughts and behavior through methods that bring hidden material into awareness. Free association invites whatever comes to mind, allowing repressed content to surface. When the patient shows resistance—defenses that block certain topics—the analyst interprets these patterns because they point to underlying conflicts. Dreams are seen as symbolic messages from the unconscious, so dream interpretation seeks latent meaning beneath the manifest content. Transference occurs when the patient redirects feelings from important people in life onto the therapist, and analyzing this pattern reveals unresolved issues from earlier relationships. Taken together, these elements define a therapy built on insight into unconscious processes and the enduring influence of early experiences. In contrast, other approaches focus more on present thoughts and behaviors, personal growth and the therapeutic relationship, or a broad biopsychosocial framework rather than these specific techniques.