MASTERSON INSTITUTE READING GROUP SERIES - JANUARY SESSION
Led by Psychologist and Social Worker İsmail Seber
“Learning from Experience” – Wilfred R. Bion
READING ANALYST: Psychologist and Social Worker İsmail Seber
BOOK OF THE MONTH
The January session of the Masterson Institute Turkey Reading Group Series will focus on Wilfred R. Bion’s book “Learning from Experience.”
Learning from Experience presents, in plain language, Bion’s core concepts concerning thinking processes, how experience takes shape in the mind, and how the emotional data that emerge in the analytic relationship can be transformed. Presenting Bion’s groundbreaking ideas—such as “alpha function,” “beta elements,” and group processes—within an accessible framework, the book provides a strong foundation for both clinical practice and theoretical study. Brought into Turkish in a carefully produced edition by Bağlam Yayınları, this work is both an illuminating and an eye-opening resource for anyone wishing to enter Bion’s world of thought.
READING LIST
FORMAT
Online, via the ZOOM platform.
Participants can confirm their registration by completing payment. The ZOOM link will be shared with registered participants via a WhatsApp group.
We expect participants to have read the session’s book before the session. The session will be held in an interactive format designed to create a shared space for thinking together and exchanging ideas. The most important point we would also like to emphasize: please send any questions you may have about the book’s content to our institute via WhatsApp at 0 542 504 22 42 no later than one week before the session.
DURATION AND SCHEDULE
The session will be held on Monday, January 5, 2026, from 8:00 to 10:30 p.m.
PARTICIPATION FEE
The registration fee for the session is 1,000 TL + VAT.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Psychologist and Social Worker İsmail Seber
İsmail Seber graduated from the Department of Social Work at Hacettepe University and the Department of Psychology at Galata University. The topic of Seber’s undergraduate psychology thesis was “ADHD from the Perspective of Psychoanalytic Theory.” Since 2002, Seber has worked at the Social Services and Child Protection Agency with children who are victims of neglect and abuse and with disadvantaged families.
In 2006, Seber attended the “Social Work and Child Welfare” postgraduate program at Oslo University College. Between 2007 and 2009, Seber attended the “From Dynamic Psychotherapies to Psychoanalysis” seminars organized by Dr. Yavuz Erten at the İçgörü Psychotherapy Center.
Seber completed the “Introduction to Psychoanalysis” seminars at the Psike-Istanbul Association in 2008 and the “Basic Concepts in Psychoanalysis” seminars at the Istanbul Psychoanalytic Association in 2010. Between 2018 and 2020, Seber completed the “Psychoanalytic Approach to Personality Disorders” training offered by the Masterson Institute.
Seber took part in the “12 Papers – 12 Discussions” program organized by Dr. Yavuz Erten at the İçgörü Psychotherapy Center in 2020 and in the “Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis” organized by the Istanbul Psychoanalytic Association in 2022.
At the Masterson Institute, Seber gave presentations in 2019, 2020, and 2022 titled “Wilfred Bion’s Contribution to Psychoanalytic Thought and the Capacity for Reverie,” “Freud’s Five Theoretical Models,” and “The Birth of Psychoanalytic Thought.” In 2023, Seber also gave a presentation titled “Representation, Mentalization, and Symbolization in Psychoanalysis” to a trauma working group established after the Kahramanmaraş earthquake.
For registration and detailed information, you can contact our institute by phone or email:
Training Coordinator Defne Behar
Phone: 0 542 504 22 42
Email: mastersonturkey@gmail.com
5 Jan 2026, 20:00
Zoom
