1st Edition
Bion in Buenos Aires Seminars, Case Presentation and Supervision
These newly discovered clinical seminars of Wilfred Bion, which include supervisions, personal case presentations, and lectures on psychoanalytic theory, represent his initial foray into many years of work that have inspired South American analysts for nearly a half a century.The clinical and theoretical work of Bion arguably ranks rather high in the current psychoanalytic firmament-as national and international conferences convene regularly to continue discussing the contemporary relevance of his work. His work has served as a source of inspiration to contemporary psychoanalysts in all three regions of the International Psychoanalytical Assocation-Ronald Britton, Antonino Ferro, Giuseppe Civitarese, Thomas Ogden, James Grotstein, and Paolo Sandler, just to name a few. These newly discovered clinical seminars from work Bion conducted in Buenos Aires in 1968 help us to further fill out the picture of his versatile gifts. In these seminars, we find lectures on Bion's elaborations on his epistemological research-still on-going in the 1960s when he went to Buenos Aires; a lecture on the Grid and its clinical relevance.
Part 1: Bion's Clinical Seminars 1. A case vignette—countertransference—the analyst's subjectivity as a factor in clinical technique—abandonment of memory and desire—audience questions 2. The nature of internal and external objects—the psychoanalytical model of Melanie Klein—projective identification—theory of container/contained—the mystic and the Establishment—Science and Christianity—audience questions 3. The Grid as an instrument to assess deterioration as well as evolution of thinking—how the Grid is used—the Grid's use as a tool for discovering latent content—the analyst's own Grid—doubts and scepticisms about the Grid—audience questions 4. Questions regarding normal development, civilised and primitive urges within a cultural container—the patient's self-definition vis-à-vis the analyst's definition of the problem—the survival of psychoanalysis—audience questions Part 2: Bion's Own Analytic Case Presentation 5. Borderline patient with paranoid hysteria—negative therapeutic reaction—the question of transformations—role of interpretation—a victim of envy Part 3: Horacio Etchegoyen's Supervision With Bion 6. The initial phase of Mr B's psychoanalytic treatment -The patient's background history—initial phase of the analysis—first dreams—the patient's internal anal universe—Bion's assessment of the patient's current state of mind—audience questions 7. Mr B's psychoanalytic treatment in the following year - The problem of excessive projective identification—further dream analysis—the difference between the patient's own model of mind vis-à-vis the analyst's model of the patient's mind—Mr B's difficulties in paying for his analysis—audience questions Part 4: Bion's Further Supervisory Work With Other Argentinian Analysts 8. An "in-the-moment" presentation of an adult analysand, all with no orienting background history—audience questions 9. The continuation of the case presentation—audience questions 10. Bion's Analytical Supervision: Jorge, an adolescent analysand—audience questions 11. The continuation of an adolescent case presentation—audience questions Part 5: Bion's Dialogue With The Audience On Questions About Supervision 12. Dr Bion's supervisory comments—on the analyst's capacities for observation, formulation, and interpretation—audience questions 13. Dr Bion's supervisory comments—on questions regarding the patient's repetition compulsion—symbiotic relationships—the analytic contract—audience questions
Biography
Wilfred R Bion
