H. Fox' and J. A. Frank's Workshop

Learning from Experience: Thinking in the Presence of Others

For nearly three years our seminar at the Metropolitan Center for Object Relations in New York City has been carefully studying the writings of W.R. Bion. We read and examine his ideas in detail, relating them to our own theoretical understanding of the psychoanalytic process as well as to particular clinical cases under discussion. As the seminar has evolved (we meet 4 hours each month) the membership has discovered that it often functions like a dream - an ever-changing contact barrier which acts as an alpha function. We realized that not only our discussions but our very style of learning parallels Bion's dream-like writing. His work - at once abstract, symbolic, and condensed - evokes particularly complex and passionate discussions among us.

We want to share with workshop participants how we study Bion's writings in a here-and-now way, without memory or desire - although at the same time with memory and desire. After a brief introduction we will present a video-taped segment from a recent seminar. Afterwards, using our own study-group format, those of us who are able to come to Turin will discuss the tape as if it were clinical material to which Bion's notions must be applied. The discussion will be spontaneous, as members - even though they formed part of the group being taped - will not have seen this particular excerpt beforehand. Finally, we will encourage the workshop participants to join in this unique process of thinking together.

LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE: THINKING IN THE PRESENCE OF OTHERS

Thinking is a living process, where presenting papers of previously thought thoughts is not. The latter can be, rather, communicating in a reduced form one's past attempts at understanding. In our presentation, we intend to do both, to share work already done as we do; fresh work at the same time. At the Metropolitan Center for Object Relations Theory and Practice in New York City, our study group has been exploring Bion's concepts for the past three years. We hope to provide both an overview of our past work together as well as offer a detailed in vivo demonstration of how our study group learns from experiencing Bion's ideas a presented in Learning from Experience.

CONFERENCE FORMAT

A ten minute introduction (some elements of which are presented below) will be followed by a twenty minute video-taped segment from a recent seminar. Afterwards - using the study-group format - those of us who are able to come to Turin will discuss the tape as if it were clinical material to which Bion's notions must be applied. The discussion will be spontaneous, as members - even though they formed part of the group being taped - will not have seen this particular excerpt beforehand. Finally, we will encourage the conference membership itself to join in.

FOCUS OF WORK

The focus of our study group is to think together about Bion's ideas as they are presented in Learning from Experience. We pay particular attention to how the group functions like a dream - an ever-changing contact barrier which acts as an alpha function. Bion's writing itself is like a dream - abstract, symbolic, and condensed. We discuss the development of alpha elements within individual members as well as within the group at large. These ideas have both theoretical and clinical implications which we discuss at times in relation to case examples.

The process of creating alpha elements changes the nature of our understanding, and as the group functions as a contact barrier it continually creates new meaning. Some of the conditions within the group which foster this work are creation of a state of reverie which allows space to think, tolerance for confusion and not knowing, willingness to struggle with envy, confidence that life and love will dominate death and hate, capacity to be not just a "feel-good Esselen" group but a "feel-bad" one, too.

These and other factors contribute to a collaborative way of studying Bion. We are offering a group learning model which starts and ends in medias res - ever-changing and evolving in its struggle toward "O".

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Hannah Fox