The Clinical Thinking of Wilfred Bion

by Neville Symington

Psychoanalysis seen through Bion's eyes is a radical departure from all conceptualizations which preceded him. In this major contribution to the series Makers of Modern Psychotherapy, Joan and Neville Symington concentrate on understanding Bion's concepts in relation to clinical practice. However, although the book is written especially for the clinician who is trying to see the application of Bion's thinking to his or her own work with patients, it is also accessible to the educated reader who wishes to understand the main contours of Bion's thinking. Rather than following the chronological development of Bion's ideas, each chapter looks in depth at an important theme in his thinking and describes how this contributes to his revolutionary model of the mind.

Genres: Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 1996

Reviews

[Sergey Kochergan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. A lot of insights and deep thoughts.
Must read for those who are interested in psychoanalysis.

[Riley Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There is a strong tendency within psychoanalytic discourse for concepts like ego, unconscious or instinct to become concrete. For Bion all such concepts were representations of an unknowable central abstraction. At the heart of the human creature lies a mystery of which all conceptualizations are inadequate representations. Bion preserves this mystery throughout his conceptualizations."

[Jihed · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good synthetis of the work of Bion. Clear and simple to follow.

[Toby Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

By Neville and Joan Symington, as it happens. I think Wilfred would have wanted both credited.

Reading Bion is hard, and reading the Symington's on Bion is less hard. But, unsurprisingly, something is lost. With (comparative) clarity (or lucidity) comes relief from the terrible struggle, but the struggle is (probably) the thing.

Still, this is 100% worth your time.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A chum who is both an Episcopal priest and a Jungian psychotherapist suggested that I read something by or about Wilfred Bion. He did this after I ruined most of a lunch together pointing out the faults and fallacies of both Freudian and Jungian psychology. Bion (or rather, Bion's thinking) is very difficult to place on a map of psychotherapy. He started out as a Kleinian but departed from both Klein and Freud fairly early in his career. He was well known for his work in group dynamics; a... (show more)

[Paul Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just re-read this book. It is a brilliant introduction to Bion - if you are finding this complex thinker rather daunting, then I would strongly recommend this book. (And if you are not, then you amaze me).