Abstract
If we want to understand Bion’s psychoanalysis and analytic field theory, its most creative development, there is one point we must always bear in mind. Bion conceives individual therapy as group therapy. Consequently, he invites the analyst to put the patient’s past and related causal theories in the background. Rather she should focus on the emotional transformations that occur in the here and now. This is very different from observing the Freudian principles of oneiric and transference distortion, on the one hand, and the (re)construction of the patient’s past history, on the other. It is also different from paying attention to so-called deep unconscious fantasies or enactments. Such a crucial aspect, though, is often misunderstood. Here the concepts of the grid and of the regression or “in search of existence” graph are employed as a way of clarifying it. Trying at any given moment to grasp the direction of the vector that represents the sum of the emotional turbulences affecting the field, whether regressive or progressive (in other words, whether reflecting the growth of the mind or its destruction), implies using a radical technique to achieve receptiveness to the unconscious. The analyst treats all narratives in the session as if they were the recounting of a dream dreamt by the analytic dyad or group of two. A few clinical vignettes are presented by way of illustration.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bion, W. R. (1961). Experiences in groups and other papers. Tavistock.
Bion, W. R. (1962). Learning from experience. Tavistock.
Bion, W. R. (1963). Elements of psychoanalysis. Heinemann.
Bion, W. R. (1965). Transformations: Change from learning to growth. Maresfield Library. 1991.
Bion, W. R. (1975). Brasilia. In Clinical seminars and other works (pp. 3–130). London: Routledge. 2018.
Bion, W. R. (1979). The dawn of oblivion. In A memoir of the future. Book 3. London, Routledge. 1991.
Bion, W. R. (1987). Clinical seminars and other works. London: Routledge. 2018.
Bion, W. R. & Rickman, J. (1943, November 27). Intra-group tension in therapy—their study as a task of the group. The Lancet. Also in Bion, W. R. (1961). Experiences in groups and other papers (pp. 11–27). London: Tavistock.
Charles, M. (2001). Auto-sensuous shapes: Prototypes for creative forms. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 61, 239–269.
Christie, A. (1930–1976). Miss Marple: Complete short stories. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. 1985.
Civitarese, G. (2008). Immersion versus interactivity and the analytic field. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 89(2), 279–298.
Civitarese, G. (2013). The grid and the truth drive. The Italian Psychoanalytic Annual, 7, 91–114.
Civitarese, G. (2014). Embodied field and somatic reverie. In Truth and the unconscious (pp. 40–52). London: Routledge.
Civitarese, G. (2015). Transformations in hallucinosis and the receptivity of the analyst. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 96(4), 1091–1116.
Civitarese, G. (2016). Whirlpools, rhythms, ideas: Aesthetic experience and intersubjective constitution of the individual. In G. Civitarese (Ed.), Sublime subjects: Aesthetic experience and intersubjectivity in psychoanalysis (pp. 77–82). London: Routledge. 2017.
Civitarese, G. (2018). Traduire l’expérience: Le concept de transformation dans Bion et la théorie du champ analytique. Revue Française De Psychanalyse, 82(5), 1327–1386.
Civitarese, G. (2019a). Intersubjectivity and the analytic field. Paper presented at the Pavia Center of Psychoanalysis, Pavia, Italy. December 10th, 2019. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, in press.
Civitarese, G. (2019b). The birth of the psyche and intercorporeity. Fort Da, 25, 6–25.
Civitarese, G. (2019c). The concept of time in Bion’s ‘A theory of thinking.’ International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 100, 182–205.
Civitarese, G. (2019d). On Bion’s concepts of negative capacity and faith. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 88, 751–783.
Civitarese, G. (2019e). Bion’s O and his pseudo-mystical path. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 29, 388–403.
Civitarese, G. (2021a, in press). Experiences in Groups as a key to ‘late’ Bion. International Journal of Psychoanalysis.
Civitarese, G. (2021b). The limits of interpretation. A reading of Bion’s “On arrogance.” International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 102(2), 236–257.
Civitarese, G. & Levine, H. B. (2016) (Eds). The W.R. Bion tradition. London: Routledge.
Civitarese, G., & Ferro, A. (2020). A short introduction to psychoanalysis. London: Routledge.
Doyle, A. C. (1887–1927). Complete Sherlock Holmes. D. Stashower, (Ed.). New York: Chartwell Books.
Farber, D. (2020). Complex arts of surrender: Psychoanalysis and tango. Unpublished paper.
Ferro, A. (2009). Transformations in dreaming and characters in the psychoanalytic field. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 90(2), 209–230.
Freud, S. (1900). The interpretation of dreams, Standard Edition, (Vol. 4–5, pp. 1–626). London: Hogarth.
Freud, S. (1911). Formulations on the two principles of psychic functioning, Standard Edition (Vol. 2, pp. 213–226). London: Hogarth.
Freud, S. (1917). A metapsychological supplement to the theory of dreams, Standard Edition, (Vol. 14, pp. 217–235). London: Hogarth.
Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle. Standard Edition, Vol. 18, (pp. 1–64). London: Hogarth.
Freud, S. (1923). The ego and the id. Standard Edition, Vol. 19, (pp. 1–161). London: Hogarth.
Gander, F. (2018). Be with. New York: New Directions Publishing Corp.
Ginzburg, C. (1980). Morelli, Freud and Sherlock Holmes: Clues and scientific method. History Workshop, 9, 5–36.
Hitchcock, A. (Producer & Director). (1960). Psycho. [Motion Picture]. Shamley Productions, USA.
Klein, M. (1946). Notes on some schizoid mechanisms. In Envy and gratitude and other works. 1946-1963. (pp. 1–124). New York: Free Press, 1975.
Manos, Jr., J. (Developer) & Goldman, J. H. (Producer). (2006–2013). Dexter [TV Series]. Showtime Networks. USA.
Ogden, T. H. (2008). Bion’s four principles of mental functioning. Fort Da, 14(2), 11–35.
Perrault, C. (1697). Little red riding hood [Le petit chaperon rouge]. In S. Holmes, N. Philips & N. Simborowski (Eds.), The complete fairy tales of Charles Perrault (pp. 30–34). New York: Clarion Books. 1993.
Reik, T. (1936). Surprise and the psychoanalyst. London: Routledge. 1999.
Symington, J., & Symington, N. (1996). The clinical thinking of Wilfred Bion. London: Routledge.
Winnicott, D. W. (1945). Primitive emotional development. In D. W. Winnicott, (Ed.), Collected papers: Through paediatrics to psycho-analysis (pp. 145–156). London: Tavistock. 1958.
Winnicott, D. W. (1946a). Psychological aspects of juvenile delinquency. In D. W. Winnicott (Ed.), The collected works of D. W. Winnicott, Volume 3 (1946-1951) (pp. 49–58). Oxford: Oxford University Press 2016.
Winnicott, D. W. (1946b). Some psychological aspects of juvenile delinquency. In J. Hardenberg (Ed.), The child and the outside world: Studies in developing relationships. (pp. 181–187). London: Tavistock. 1957.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Civitarese, G. BION’S GRAPH OF “IN SEARCH OF EXISTENCE”. Am J Psychoanal 81, 326–350 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1057/s11231-021-09306-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s11231-021-09306-x