Wilfred R. BionRecensioni

Wilfred Ruprecht Bion DSO (/ b iː ˈ ɒ n / ; 8 September 1897 – 8 November 1979) was an influential British psychoanalyst, who became president of the British Psychoanalytical Society from 1962 to 1965. Wilfred Bion was a potent and original contributor to psychoanalysis.

Bion set about studying groups through observation and interpretation. He therefore combined the observational and experimental method. Interpretations are interventions which alter the behaviour of the group, so he observed the effect of these interpretations. As the group was his object of study he did not interpret the behaviour of individuals, though he was tempted to do so. So the members of the group would take their places and expected him to say something, explain how they were to proceed or do something to set the ball rolling. Instead of fulfilling their expectations he interpreted their expectations, of him and discovered that these interventions were most unwelcome. Through such a procedure he observed the way the group functioned and formulated certain principles about his observations.

He proposed that groups operate on two levels, the work level where concern is for completing the task) and the unconscious level where group members act as if they had made assumptions about the purpose of the group which may be different from its conscious level - dependency, flight, fight and pairing. Groups avoid the task at hand and emotional states hinder the task.

The Basic Assumption group process is about the group acting as if the members had made the basic and shared assumption that the group had met to do one of the following irrational things:

Depend on someone or something outside themselves (either within or outside the group). This is Basic Assumption Dependence or baD.

Fight or flee from something: Basic Assumption Fight/Flight or baF.

Pair or mate: Basic Assumption Pairing or baP.

A discussion of categorising the ideational context and emotional experience that may occur in a psychoanalytic interview. The text aims to expand the reader's understanding of cognition and its clinical ramifications.

A consideration of the concept of the container and the contained which includes their relevance to the theory of projective identification and an analytic approach to the nature and function of lying.

First published in 1965 this book is the continuation of Bion's investigation of various aspects of psychoanalytic theory and practice. He examines the way in which an analyst's description of the analytic experience necessarily transforms it, in order to effect an interpretation.

This selection of clinical seminars held by Wilfred Bion in Brasilia (1975) and Sao Paulo (1978) is the nearest we shall ever get to experiencing his application of his theories and views to consulting-room practice. It is also likely to be the only printed record of this area of his work. As those who underwent analysis with Bion will testify, nothing can approach the experience of the thing-itself, but, failing that, these seminars may help to fill the gap now that his voice can only be heard through his published writings and lectures.

The reader will find here no jargon, dogma or theoretical exposition; he knew that the enormous difficulties involved in communicating verbally this infinitely complex subject are only compounded by the use of what is often nothing more than "psycho-babble". His intentional choice of simple language, accurately and consistently used, can come as a surprise; a presenting analyst says. "Your suggestion of what to say to the patient seemed much simpler than what is usually said by an analyst."

He described analysis as "a tough job", "a dangerous occupation", and the analytic experience as "potentially nasty both for the analyst and the analysand.....like being at sea - it is as stormy for both people." To the question of whether it is the analyst's function to help the patient, he gives this illuminating reply;"....we are trying to say. "I will help you to know yourself....I am trying to be a mirror to reflect back to you who you are, so that you can see in what I say to you an image of your self."

Throughout these seminars (and the following discussions and papers) runs the thread of Bion's penetrating insight, his recognition of truth, and his fascination with the human character. In observing the patient he believed that the analyst must combine the disciplined curiosity of the scientist, the warmth of the humanist, the wisdom of the philosopher, and the sensitivity of the artist. A tall order indeed, but one to which this remarkable man came very close to fulfilling.

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Psychoanalyst Dr David Bell has chosen to discuss Learning From Experience by Wilfred Bion on FiveBooks as one of the top five on his subject - Psychoanalysis, saying that:



“…He is very seminal to my work. There are three elements in Freud’s thought that deal with what promotes development. The first is overcoming repression of sexual and destructive instincts, the second is allowing the life instinct to dominate the death drive and the third is knowledge, that is, knowledge of the self. ‘Where Id was there Ego shall be,’ he said. Crudely speaking, the Id is the raging primitive passion and the Ego is the voice of reason and reality. Bion brings knowledge into the centre of psychoanalytic scrutiny. What forces, he asks, can interfere with knowledge? He doesn’t mean knowing things, he means the lifelong process of understanding, of coming to know things. He’s a genetic epistemologist – he deals with the development of knowledge.



The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget did wonderful work on cognitive development but he leaves emotion out entirely. For Bion emotion and knowledge are intimately connected. He links the emotional capacity to develop and know to the capacity to tolerate frustration. If we can hold ourselves in check whilst we endure frustration then we can come to know things. To some extent we are born with the capacity but we are fundamentally influenced by the world in which we develop, and he deals especially with the relationship between mother and baby.



The more the mother can help the baby, intuitively, to tolerate primitive frustrations, the more the baby can develop and internalise this capacity to manage himself. The psychotic patient, for example, has great difficulty in bearing frustration and his capacity for knowledge of the world is replaced by delusions. Freud talks about this in his essay on the principles of mental functioning, in which he talks about the pleasure principle and the reality principle. In order for the reality principle to function man must be able to manage what he describes as disappointment. Bion leans very heavily on Freud but he also brings in Klein and his own work with psychotic patients…”


The full interview is available here: http://fivebooks.com/interviews/david-bell