As one of Freud's patients termed his therapy as "the talking cure," discuss its goals.

I think that Freud understood talking as a significant
part of his theories because it represented the only real way that individuals could
feel some level of power about their motivations.  Residing in the realm of the
subconsciousness that lies outside the full control of rational thought, Freud
understood that talking and expressing what lies inside one's sense of being in the
world is the only way to fully understand or grasp it.  In this light, talking in an
open and non- structured manner becomes vitally
important:

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The patient, relaxed on a couch in his office,
was directed to engage in a free association of ideas that could yield useful insights,
and was asked to reveal frankly whatever came to mind. Through both his work with
patients and his own self-analysis, Freud came to believe that mental disorders which
have no apparent physiological cause are symbolic reactions to psychological shocks,
usually of a sexual nature, and that the memories associated with these shocks, although
they have been repressed into the unconscious, indirectly affect the content not only of
dreams but of conscious
activity.

I don't think that
Freud ever conceived of a "cure" in his theories.  I think that he recognized that the
challenge of modern beings is precisely to not see something as "cured" or "afflicted." 
These social labels are precisely the reason for neurosis or being seen as "abnormal." 
Rather, Freud understood that individuals must talk and fully understand the complex
dimensions that govern their state of being in the world.  The ideas of free association
and being able to piece together these figments and fragments of consciousness are both
critical to Freud's therapy.  This is not a "cure," but rather a more effective way to
understand individuals' identities and the role they play in
consciousness.