By DENISE MANN

Dec. 19, 2000 -- All across the globe, more and more men, women, and children are lying on couches and talking until they're blue in the face, but not in the head.

This is why the overall mood was so upbeat at a recent meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association in New York City.

Psychoanalysis is based on the observation that people are often unaware of the many factors that make up their personal emotions and behavior. These unconscious factors may create unhappiness, troubling personality traits, difficulties in work or in relationships, or disturbances in mood and self-esteem. Typically, a patient comes to therapy four or five times a week, lies on a couch, and attempts to say everything that comes to mind. These conditions permit the emergence of aspects of the mind that are not normally accessible. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is considered the father of psychoanalysis.

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