Interesting comment by Paul Watzlawick on the psychoanalytic method. ... As you know, the psychoanalytic patient is made to lie down on a sofa and should practice a special form of mental confusion called free association: it must, that is, to say anything and everything that comes to mind. The analyst sits behind him out of his sight. The official reason for this arrangement is that it facilitates the free flow of associations, particularly embarrassing ones, making the patient less aware of the presence of the analyst. But, let me use an analogy here psychoanalytic, what is thrown through the front door sneaks through the back door: far from forgetting the presence analyst, the patient develops an acute perception especially towards those who come from minimal acoustic clues behind him. The scratch of the pen of the physician, the creaking of the chair, the sound, almost imperceptible product stroking his beard, all these sounds gradually become very significant messages, which tell the patient what should and what should not associate freely, as long as a certain type of rhythmic breathing did not say that his therapist has finally fallen asleep ...
