Great imaginative literature invites us deeply into the complexity of love relationships and the mysteries of the Unconscious. As an audience during the production of a play, we may engage with emotional depth and immediacy with the inner worlds of the actors and the director as they take up their roles in response to the creative design of the author. The hopeful prospect: Expansion of consciousness with access to new transformative resources for all participants. We will explore Wilfred Bion’s inter-subjective theory of thinking in relation to these observations and psychoanalysis.

Learning Objectives
Attendees at this program will be able to:
1. Describe the principles of Bion’s inter-subjective theory of thinking and its application throughout development and in psychoanalysis.
2. Note how great imaginative literature may serve as a “container/contained” in Bion’s sense with unique power to develop the capacity for access to reverie and creative interpretive thought in response to previously unconscious and often overwhelming lived emotional experience.
3. Describe how Bion’s theory allows us to explore how the performance of great imaginative literature in the theater may provide an affect-laden opportunity for director, cast, and audience to engage with the mind of the author in hope of a deepening of creative interpretive consciousness for all participants.
4. Forget all of the above and enter into a discussion of imaginative literature in its own terms: how does it work, what is the nature of the voice of the narrator, how does the structure of the piece contribute to its effects, and so on.

References:
1. Ogden, T. (2004). “On holding and containing: being and dreaming.” Int. J. of Psychoanalysis. 85: 1349-1364.
2. Ogden, T. (2010). “On three forms of thinking: magical thinking, dream thinking, and transformative thinking.” Psychoanalytic Quarterly 79: 317-347.
3. Shields, W. (2006). “Dream interpretation, affect, and the theory of neuronal group selection: Freud, Winnicott, Bion, and Modell.” Int. J. Psychoanal. 87: 1509-1527.
4. Shields, W. (2009). “Imaginative literature and Bion’s intersubjective theory of thinking.” Psychoanalytic Quarterly 78: 559-586.

Continuing Education: Physicians: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of the American Psychoanalytic Association and the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians and takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity. The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 hours in category 1 credit towards the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity. Disclosure information is on record indicating that participating faculty members have no significant financial relationships to disclose. Psychologists The Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education.