Revisiting Bion’s “Notes on Thinking”: Implications for School Psychologists

ABSTRACT

Bion’s “Notes on Thinking” (1962a) is not typically associated with the practice of school psychology. However, most of the ideas articulated in the paper, such as the need to learn to engage with what feels frustrating, the capacity to contain emotions and process experiences, and the role of the mother in enabling her child to tolerate emotional states, are applicable to the challenges school psychologists and teachers routinely face in schools. Perhaps the most prominent of these are the need to be able to tolerate and contain the reactions difficult children generate with their acts and the ability to create conditions that help school personnel reflect on the behavior of these children and thus be more attuned to their needs.