Self and sign in free association

Some depressive symptoms may be mitigated early in psychoanalytic treatment, apparently as the consequence of the free association process itself. We may account for these changes by considering possible modification of the self as the container of hitherto unavailable signifying chains, now expressed in the analytic discourse. At the same time, it is useful to consider how similar favorable changes may arise in other forms of treatment, and also in experiences of ordinary life.