Editing Wilfred Bion (section)

=== 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>