ABSTRACT
Having undergone four analyses, including one with Bion, I am able to compare him with my other analysts as well as with others in general. Let me begin with a statement of his that I heard second-hand from another colleague. Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, Bion confided to this colleague that “American analysts actually converse with their patients!” Bion rarely conversed with me. He was the most disciplined analyst I have ever met. His respect for the analytic frame was always obvious. He would never repeat an interpretation, even if I told him that I had not heard it. He would remind me that it could not be repeated: the time had passed. On one occasion he reminded me of Heraclitus’ koan that one can never step into the same river twice. Virtually the entirety of his relationship with me during the analysis was interpretative. He interpreted frequently and often at length. Yet he was always “Kleinian”—but in his own way. I never read any of Bion’s works while I was in analysis with him and was therefore surprised later when I read his concept of “abandoning memory and desire”. He spoke and interpreted in an active and highly engaged manner; consequently, I don’t know when he found the time to “abandon memory and desire”. I recall, however, that like a scout, he doggedly tracked the sequence of my free associations. I shall soon share with you some of what he said to me, including his first interpretation to me on my first day of analysis with him.
