411: Winnicott and Bion
Instructors
Irene Cairo, M.D.
Rogelio Sosnik, M.D.
September 13, 2023 – November 1, 2023
Mondays, 8:35 – 10:00 pm
Co-requisites
Candidates must have or have had at least two cases in supervised psychoanalysis to be eligible for upper level courses.
Course Description
This course will provide a brief introduction to the contributions of Wilfred Bion and Donald Winnicott, contemporaries in British Psychoanalysis. Starting from Melanie Klein — one her analysand, the other her supervisee, — they took very distinct pathways. Their ideas are compared around three main topics: 1) Early Development: the way they described the first interactions between mother and baby and their role in the construction of the baby’s mind; 2) Psychoses: that is, the severe distortions of mental development and 3) Psychoanalytic Technique, with special emphases on the approach to countertransference. The difference between Winnicott’s “holding” and Bion’s “containing” is particularly emphasized. Third and Fourth Year students combined. This course alternates with 305.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Describe basic elements of Bion’s and Winnicott’s theories, in particular regarding development of mind and psychoses.
- Describe the differences and similarities among the clinical approaches of Bion and Winnicott and their implications for practice.
Evaluation Method
Each student’s participation in class discussion and his or her demonstration of understanding of the course objectives and reading material is assessed in a written evaluation by the instructor(s).
These articles are protected under relevant copyright regulations. They are available in the New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute Electronic Reserve for your convenience, and for your personal use.
READINGS ARE CONFIRMED.
CLASS 1: September 13, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Winnicott, D.W. (1945). Primitive emotional development. In Through Paediatrics to Psychoanalysis, New York: Basic Books, 145-156. Also in IJPA (1945), Vol 26:137-143
Winnicott, D.W. “Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena”. Collected Papers, 1951, pp.229-242. [IJPA, vol. XXXIV, 1953] Also, with additions, in Winnicott5, D.W. Playing and Reality, 1969: Routledge Chapman and Hall, NY, ch. 1, pp. 1-25
CLASS 2: September 20, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Winnicott, D.W. (1958). The Capacity to be Alone. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 39:416-420.
Winnicott, D.W. (1963). “Communicating and not Communicating, leading to a study of certain opposites” in The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment: Studies in the Theory of Emotional Development. Madison, CT: International Universities Press, 1965. Also in Reading Winnicott. Ed. by Lesley Caldwell and Angela Joyce, Routledge, 2011, pp.182-196.
Winnicott, D.W. (1974). Fear of Breakdown. Int. R. Psycho-Anal., 1:103-107.
CLASS 3: September 27, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Winnicott, D.W. (1949). Hate in the Counter-Transference. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 30:69-74.
Winnicott, D.W. (1969). The Use of an Object. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 50:711-716.
CLASS 4: October 4, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Bion, W.R (1950).”The Imaginary Twin” In Second Thoughts. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Bion, W.R. (1953). “Notes on the Theory of Schizofrenia”. In Second Thoughts. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
CLASS 5: October 11, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Bion, W.R. (1957). Differentiation of the Psychotic from the Non-Psychotic Personalities. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 38:266-275.
Bion, W.R. (1959). Attacks on Linking. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 40:308-315.
CLASS 6: October 18, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Bion, W. R. (1962). The Psycho-Analytic Study of Thinking. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 43:306-310.
CLASS 7: October 25, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Bion, W.R. (1970). “Opacity of Memory and Desire” In Attention and Interpretation, London: Tavistock. Ch 4, pp 41-54.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Bion, W.R. (1970). “Reality Sensuous and Psychic” In Attention and Interpretation. London: Tavistock. Ch 3, pp 26-40.
ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS FOR THE COURSE
Blass, Rachel, (2013). On Winnicott’s Clinical Innovations in the Analysis of Adults: Responses to the Controversy, Int. J. Psychoanal (94) (1) 117-118