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Freud famously juxtaposed remembering against repeating in the analytic situation.  By interpreting the patient’s repetitions, we give her a chance to break the vicious cycle of her neurosis—even if for just a moment—and to experience herself in a freer way.  But what if the interpretation itself becomes a repetition?  What if it is felt as attack, a rejection, a seduction, and effort to steer or control the patient?  Indeed, and as many writers have noted since Freud, we repeat as we speak (even when we are offering an accurate observation or interpretation).  What, then, is the point of speaking?  What are we doing with our words?  In this presentation, I draw on Charles Peirce’s theory of signification to show why and how our words matter.  I argue, more specifically, that the transformative power of speech lies not in its information-value, but in its indexical and iconic force.  I define these terms and use them to outline an integrative semiotic vision of therapeutic action.