The Social Origins of Wilfred Bion’s Theories and Praxis – Presented by Karim G Dajani, PsyD [Seminar]

NARRATIVE

This workshop will present original work on the social unconscious and its application to Wilfred Bion’s theories and praxis.  The conception of a social unconscious was introduced at the very inception of our field (1924) by the first formally trained American Psychoanalyst – Trigant Burrow. It was intensely resisted and eventually erased from our working memory and curricula. It is an essential feature of the human unconscious.  Consideration of the social unconscious opens up pathways to working with deep mental structures that are organized around our experiences in groups and along shared social ideas we internalize and reproduce in our thinking, perception and comportment.  

The day will begin with a presentation on the origins and functions of the social unconscious in psychoanalytic theory followed by a Question and Answer period. The exercise will give us shared conceptions and language that emerge from analytic scholarship on the social unconscious. Once we have our terms defined and the main ideas shared, we will apply them to  Wilfred Bion’ original theories. Bion’s theories related to alpha function, reverie, container contained, attacks on linking and transformation in K and O are enormously useful in our clinical work. They are discontinuous from the rest of psychoanalysis, wildly creative, intensely useful, and capacious in every way. 

On the surface the social unconscious and Bion’ theories appear to be unrelated. However, a deeper look will make it evident that they are intertwined. Bion was born in Mathura India where he lived for the first 9 years of his life. He was largely raised by an Indian Ayah (nanny) to whom he was very closely attached. From the vertices’ of a social unconscious Bion acquired an Indian cultural system from his Ayah and his social surroundings. Dr. Dajani will demonstrate the intimate connection between Bion’ theories and an Eastern Theistic Cultural system. 

Combining insights from the social unconscious with Bion’s clinical theories will help you develop tools for widening and deepening your contact with your patients, particularly those who are from different cultures and social positions.

COURSE OUTLINE—6 hours

8:30 – 9:00 am                     

Registration

9:00 – 9:15 am  

• • • Introduction of Presenter

9:15 – 10:15 am  

• • • The origins and functions of the social unconscious.  Elucidating the role the illusion of absolutism plays in shaping our perspective.

10:15 – 10:30 am  

• • • Break

10:30 – 11:30 am  

• • • The Social Unconscious in W. Bion’s theories

11:30 – 12:00 noon  

• • • The essence of Bion’s clinical approach

12:00 – 1:00 pm  

• • • Lunch Break

1:00 – 2:00 pm  

• • • Case Presentation

2:00 – 3:00 pm  

• • • Case Presentation

3:00 – 4:00 pm  

• • • Group discussion on working with the social unconscious.

4:00 pm

• • • End of conference

CONTENT CURRICULUM

1) This presentation builds upon key competencies, skill sets, and knowledge bases associated with the literature of contemporary psychoanalytic psychotherapy, including models of object relations, mentalization, group objects, and functions related to the social unconscious.  It builds upon graduate-level concepts and elaborates them into applied clinical methodologies directly relevant to psychodynamically informed psychotherapy.

2) The content directly enhances psychodynamic clinical practice, especially for clinicians working with culturally diverse populations. It offers theoretical elaboration and practical tools for assessment, case formulation, and clinical intervention rooted in both classical and contemporary psychoanalytic theory.

3) This course is designed for licensed mental health professionals (psychologists, MFTs, LCSWs, etc.) with foundational training in psychodynamic psychotherapy. The instructional level is intermediate, assuming prior exposure to psychoanalytic principles and therapeutic technique.

4) The content of this presentation is comprehensively based in the established literature of contemporary psychoanalytically informed psychotherapy, especially as it relates to working with people across the spectrum of cultural and social difference.  The concepts and methodologies described are characteristic of the broadly accepted principles and theoretical frames associated with this well documented model of psychotherapy.  The inherent limitations of this content include the well-documented difficulties in establishing the empirical evidence of efficacy among competing models of psychotherapy, which are complicated by competing assumptions about what represents desirable outcomes (for example, behavior change vs. development of psychological capacities which may be difficult to measure).  The risks involved in this presented content include transient discomfort and emotional dislocation involved in addressing basic aspects and functions of the social unconscious as it relates to perception and thinking.

5) This presentation will include a discussion of the cultural, racial, social manifestation of the social unconscious, and the way culture acts as a lens for self and other perception.  For example, the discussion will include a detailed analysis of the ways cultural propositions are reproduced in our theories and our thinking. This will give participants additional tools to work with cultural and social determinants that are part and parcel of every treatment, not just the ones that are between people from different cultures.

Bio:

Karim G. Dajani, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and a training and supervising psychoanalyst. He specializes in working with issues related to cultural dislocation and displacement. His research and writing include publications on the links between cultural systems and the unconscious of individuals and groups. He sits on the editorial board of the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies. His recent works include a special issue dedicated to the social unconscious and an upcoming chapter on race and ethnicity in contemporary psychoanalytic theories and praxis that will appear in the next edition of the textbook on Psychoanalysis. 

COST:

CIP Members:

$150 early registration 10 business days prior to seminar; $180 after

Non-Members:

$180 early registration up to 10 business days prior to seminar, $210 after

CEs: 6 CEs for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and 6 CEs for Psychologists

The Community Institute for Psychotherapy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.  The Community Institute for Psychotherapy maintains responsibility for these programs and their contents. 

Accommodations will be made wherever possible for those with disabilities. Please let us know of any disabilities upon registration to ensure proper accommodations are put in place prior to the workshop/training.

Cancellations must be received in writing 10 business days prior to the seminar, class, or first study group session for a refund minus a $25 cancellation fee. Cancellations less than ten days will not be refunded.