Final answer:
Cara's therapist is using free association, a psychoanalytic technique developed by Freud to access the unconscious mind. Hypnosis, which is effective for highly suggestible individuals, and meditation or mindful awareness, which can influence learning, are distinct from free association but also involve cognitive processes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Cara's therapist is using the psychoanalytic technique known as free association. This technique involves the patient relaxing and expressing any thoughts, memories, and images that spontaneously come to mind without censorship. This method is pivotal in psychoanalytic therapy, which was developed by Sigmund Freud, to access the unconscious mind and potentially uncover repressed memories or thoughts that could be contributing to psychological distress.
Hypnosis is often effective in individuals who are highly suggestible. While it is a different technique, it similarly allows for the exploration of the unconscious mind, which can be beneficial for treating conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Through methods like hypnosis, patients might recover previously inaccessible memories. However, the accuracy of such recovered memories can sometimes be questionable, as suggested by psychologist Elizabeth Loftus.
Research suggests activities like meditation and mindful awareness can influence cognitive processes like learning, although these practices are distinct from psychoanalytic techniques such as free association. On the contrary, they focus on the present moment and cultivating a nonjudgmental awareness of one's thoughts and feelings.