The healthful (therapeutic) release of ideas through “talking out” conscious material accompanied by an appropriate emotional reaction. Also, the release into awareness of repressed (“forgotten”) material from the unconscious.
A form of emotional release resulting from talking out problems with the aid of a therapist, as applied to psychology.
A sudden, often overpowering outpouring of repressed unconscious feelings surrounding an emotional conflict. This healthful or therapeutic release of ideas may occur through “talking out” conscious material during psychotherapy.
Purging or cleansing out of the bowels by giving the patient a laxative (cathartic) to stimulate intestinal activity.
The therapeutic release of emotional tension is achieved through the recollection of past events.
In psychoanalysis, the concept involves alleviating worry or anxiety by shifting it from the subconscious to the conscious mind, where it can be more logically addressed and managed.