Annie Reiner’s introduction to Wilfred Bion’s theories of mind presents Bion’s intricate ideas in an accessible, original way without compromising their complexity. Reiner uses comparisons to painting, literature and philosophy, and detailed clinical examples, to provide an experience of Bion’s work that can be felt as well as thought. The book explores many of Bion’s theoretical and clinical innovations, and examines the controversy surrounding his concept of O. Reiner provides evidence of a continuity between Bion’s early ideas and his later, more esoteric work. W. R. Bion’s Theories of Mind will be essential reading for psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic candidates, as well as students of psychoanalytic and psychological history, and anyone looking for a readable introduction to Bion’s work.

Provides new empirical study data that explores the influence of linguistic variables within developmental contexts on theory of mind development and functioning Establishes context for usage, including personal, social, and business interactions Offers a comprehensive overview on the most current studies that address the relationship between language and theory of mind

John Maze was a giant among philosophers of psychology. This exciting, new collection of his published work demonstrates that what is seemingly new in psychology is so often not new at all but frequently consists of ill-informed corruptions of earlier, discarded, misguided attempts. Their collection together is timely in the current, innovatory era of cross-disciplinary exploration and integration on the borderlands of psychology and philosophy, where there is a visible danger that the welcome loosening of barriers to mutual communication also generates some 'wild' theorizing, familiar enough in the history of psychology itself. A corpus remarkable for its coherence, intellectual virtuosity and radicalism over 50 years, it speaks meaningfully to the wide range of psychological theory throughout its history up to the present day. Written with elegance and eloquence, the essays entail a thoroughgoing critical analysis of the most detrimental philosophical erroers of academic psychology in the 20th century, the relegation to history by the 20th century academy of some of the conceptually most promising lines of research, the cost that has been borne by the discipline of psychology, and the most promising future direction for the discipline.

A collection of papers on and about the work of Wilfred Bion and its continuing development. Most were presented at the International Centennial Conference on the work of Bion in Turin in 1997. Contributors include Francesca Bion, Andre Green, James Grotstein, and many others. “How are we to become wise when so much emphasis is placed on cleverness, on building increasingly complex substitutes for thought? Where does wisdom come on a scale measuring success?” So writes Francesca Bion, when considering her husband’s work. A fitting tribute to Bion would be a collection of papers containing passionate attempts at thinking, not substitutes for thought. In this book, concern with psychic life, far from being dead, reaches new places, takes deeper, more nuanced turns. Authors penetrate subtly into our lying ways and soundly appreciate the complexities of our hunger for truth and experience.

At a historic conference in Toronto in October 1993, developmental researchers and clinicians came together for the first time to explore the implications of current knowledge of attachment. This volume is the outcome of their labors. It offers innovative approaches to the understanding of such diverse clinical topics as child abuse, borderline personality disorder, dissociation, adolescent suicide, treatment responsiveness, false memory, narrative competence, and the intergenerational transmission of trauma.

This book provides an account of The Dawn of Oblivion, one of three semi-autobiographical novels in the collection A Memoir of the Future, an attempt to cast psychoanalytic speculation in fictional form. It includes an expanded version of A Key to A Memoir of the Future (1981).

The Bion Seminars at the A-Santamaria Association offers readers insightful analyses and commentaries on Bion’s key papers and books, as well as providing a unique set of discussions and explorations of many of Bion’s central concepts and foundational texts. This diverse collection of essays brings together contributions from internationally renowned Bionian scholars and analysts, including Annie Reiner, Nicola Abel-Hirsch, Antònia Grimalt, Avner Bergstein, Afsaneh Kiany Alisobhani, João Carlos Braga, Tom Helscher, Tim Smith and Peter Goldberg. Readers will encounter expansions and extensions of contemporary and timeless themes and discover the originality with which psychoanalysts from different geographical regions take ownership of the ideas discussed. Chapters cover the early and late work of Bion, spanning topics such as arrogance, the theory of thinking, memory and desire, and the clinical importance of frustration. The authors reveal to us the elements of continuity and discontinuity in Bion's work, sharing open conjectures to allow new developments to evolve. This volume is essential reading for practicing psychoanalysts, analysts-in-training, analytic psychotherapists, and anyone interested in exploring Bion's work.

This book explores the psychoanalytic treatment of a patient with psychosis from a range of different psychotherapeutic perspectives. The psychotherapeutic treatment of psychotic individuals is both rare and controversial with a limitation in availability of clinical material. As psychoanalytically oriented therapy is private, it is almost impossible to “witness” the actual human interaction of therapeutic process. While catatonia is a rare disorder, there are many attempts to hypothesize a theoretical psychic structure for the range of disorders called psychotic. Therapists rarely report “successful” outcomes of long and unusual treatments. In the book, a fragment of the treatment of a catatonic adolescent is reconstructed as an endeavor in representing that which is not clinically representable. Following the case report, which also reveals part of the history of the therapist, prominent analytic clinicians of different theoretical orientations share their understanding and comment on the material revealed. With a fresh perspective on psychoanalytic treatment of psychosis, this book is essential reading for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and clinicians involved in the treatment of psychosis.

As a healer and a seeker of truth, Dr. Anne Elizabeth has been searching for the origins of consciousness, thinking, and spiritual connection throughout her lifetime. She has explored many philosophies and found the work of Rudolf Steiner; a most comprehensive diamondmind view of our relationship to the cosmos and ourselves. She has experienced many spiritual contacts as well as spiritual pilgrimages to England, France and Spain following the path of Mary, the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene and continues her quest for spiritual sovereignty in connection with her Future Self and the support of the Marconics Chronos Guild. Through the many spiritual pathways explored, Dr. Elizabeth has found the work of Rudolf Steiner and anthroposophy to hold a deep global and comprehensive perspective of the connections between our earth, our planet and the ways in which we are infl uenced by the planetary system in which we live. Beyond this matrix, Dr. Elizabeth discovered the Marconics Chronos Guild which facilitated her healing and ascension process with her Future Self into enduring grace multidimensionality.

This impressive work constitutes an important and timely addition to existing dictionaries of psychoanalytic ideas. It is not intended to replace the reading of Bion’s original texts nor is it a biography of W.R. Bion, the man. A brief history of Bion’s life is offered in the introduction to illuminate the conscious and unconscious factors that may have been an influence on his work, but the aim of this volume is to serve as an insightful and comprehensive guide to the often obscure meanings and terms explored and created by Bion throughout his many years, first as a psychiatrist and later as a psychoanalyst. It is an essential companion to the works of Bion that brings clarity and understanding to his absorbing concepts and is a vital addition to the library of anyone who has read and wondered over the writings of W.R. Bion.