Creative Intertwining in the Work of W.R. Bion and Samuel Beckett
Contemporary Freudian Society Seminar
Online and New York
Nov. 21, 2026
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Contemporary Freudian Society The CFS Scientific Program Committee is pleased to present Creative Intertwining in the Work of W.R. Bion and Samuel Beckett Saturday, November 21, 2026 • 10:00am – 12:30pm EST Joseph Aguayo and Nuar Alsadir present an immersive exploration of the historical, personal, and clinical encounter between Wilfred Bion and Samuel Beckett. Before the live symposium, registered attendees will receive an exclusive 45-minute preparatory video from Dr. Aguayo detailing Bion’s life and formative years leading up to his work at the Tavistock Clinic. Building on this background, Aguayo’s live presentation, "Who was Wilfred Bion before he became W.R. Bion?", will examine the crucial psychological milestones of Bion's early decades. His paper highlights the trauma of Bion’s service in World War I and his dissatisfaction with his first analyst, J.R. Hadfield, offering essential insight into Bion's state of mind when he took Beckett into treatment. Dr. Alsadir will then expand upon her recently published New Yorker article, "Samuel Beckett on the Couch," to explore Beckett’s personal experience of treatment. Alsadir will discuss the author's reflections on working with Bion and his creative development at the time, as well as the broader historical context of his work with Bion. Together, these presentations offer a rare, close look at these two monumental figures, both in the very early stages of their careers. Aguayo’s video and Alsadir’s article will be sent to registered participants prior to the event, and attendees are encouraged to review both materials to enrich their experience of the program. Presenters: Joseph Aguayo, PhD is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of California and a Guest Member of the British Psychoanalytical Society. With PhDs in both Clinical Psychology and European History from UCLA, Dr. Aguayo has edited and written: W. R. Bion’s Clinical Seminars in Los Angeles, (with B. Malin, 2013); Bion in Buenos Aires, (with L. Pistener de Cortinas and A. Regeczkey, 2017); Introducing the Clinical Work of W.R. Bion, (2023); and Bion in the Consulting Room: An Implicit Method Clinical Inquiry, (2024) (with Hinshelwood, Dermen and Abel-Hirsch). His next publication in February 2027: Winnicott in America, (Oxford Univ. Press) an edited collection of papers on Winnicott lecture visits to the United States in the 1960s. Dr. Nuar Alsadir, Ph.D., L.P., is a psychoanalyst, poet, and nonfiction writer. She is the author of the nonfiction book Animal Joy: A Book of Laughter and Resuscitation, which was one of TIME’s 100 must-read books of 2022 and a best book of 2022 from Publishers Weekly, and two poetry books, Fourth Person Singular, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and the Forward Prize for Best Collection in England and in Ireland, and More Shadow Than Bird. Dr. Alsadir’s writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Best American Essays, The New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, The Yale Review, and Granta, Dr. Alsadir received training from New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, IPTAR, and the Melanie Klein Trust. She lives in New York City, where she works as a psychoanalyst in private practice and teaches in the graduate creative writing MFA program at New York University. Program Fee: CFS Scientific Program Committee: References: Learning Objectives: Continuing Education Credits: Important Disclosure Information: |