Editing Wilfred Bion (section)

== Containment theory<!--'Containment theory' redirects here --> ==
{{Redirect|Containment theory|the concept in social control theory|Containment theory (Reckless)}}
Bion's concept of '''containment'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->, first developed in his 1962 book ''Learning from Experience'', represents one of his most significant contributions to psychoanalytic theory.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bion |first=Wilfred R. |title=Learning from experience |date=1991 |publisher=Karnac |isbn=978-0-946439-05-8 |edition=3. print |series=Maresfield library |location=London}}</ref> The theory describes a psychological process whereby one person (the container) receives and processes the unbearable feelings and experiences of another (the contained).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Symington |first=Joan |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781134870912 |title=The Clinical Thinking of Wilfred Bion |last2=Symington |first2=Neville |date=2002-01-31 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-87091-2 |edition=0 |language=en |doi=10.4324/9780203130148}}</ref>

=== Origins and development ===
The containment model emerged from Bion's observations of the mother-infant relationship and his clinical work with psychotic patients. Drawing on Melanie Klein's concept of projective identification, Bion expanded it from a defensive mechanism to a communicative process essential for psychological development.<ref>{{Cite book |last=López-Corvo |first=Rafael E. |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780429906251 |title=The Dictionary of the Work of W. R. Bion |date=2018-03-29 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-48148-2 |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.4324/9780429481482}}</ref> He proposed that the mother serves as a psychological "container" for the infant's primitive anxieties and unprocessed emotional experiences (which he termed "beta elements").<ref>{{Citation |last=Bion |first=Wilfred R. |title=A theory of thinking 1 |date=2018-11-09 |work=Parent-Infant Psychodynamics |pages=74–82 |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429478154-8 |access-date=2025-03-01 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-47815-4}}</ref> 
Bion used the notation "♀︎♂︎" to represent the container–contained relationship, describing the dynamic interplay between:

* The container (♀︎) which receives, holds, and processes
* The contained (♂︎) which is projected, held, and transformed<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bion |first=Wilfred R. |title=Attention and Interpretation |date=2018 |publisher=Karnac Books |isbn=978-0-946439-08-9 |location=New York}}</ref>

=== Maternal reverie and alpha function ===
Central to containment theory is Bion's concept of "maternal reverie," which describes the mother's receptive state of mind that allows her to receive the infant's projections.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Segal |first=Hanna |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781134913473 |title=Clinical Lectures on Klein and Bion |date=2014-08-07 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-16777-9 |editor-last=Anderson |editor-first=Robin |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.4324/9780203167779}}</ref> Through what Bion termed "alpha function," the mother processes the infant's raw sensory data and emotional experiences (beta elements) into manageable, thinkable forms (alpha elements) that can be re-introjected by the infant. Failure of adequate containment may lead to what Bion described as "nameless dread" – primitive anxieties that cannot be processed or thought about.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bion |first=Wilfred R. |title=Second thoughts: selected papers on psycho-analysis |date=1984 |publisher=J. Aronson |isbn=978-0-87668-330-9 |location=New York}}</ref>

==== Application to psychoanalysis ====
In clinical practice, the analyst functions as a container for the patient's unbearable emotions and experiences. Bion emphasized that this process requires the analyst to maintain a state of mind free from "memory and desire" to fully receive the patient's projections. Through containment, patients gradually develop their own capacity to contain and process difficult emotional experiences.<ref>{{Citation |last=Mawson |first=Chris |title=Notes on Memory and Desire |date=2021-06-03 |work=The Complete Works of W. R. Bion |pages=205–210 |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429327520-18 |access-date=2025-03-01 |place=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-32752-0 |last2=Bion |first2=Francesca}}</ref>