| Description |
Mentalization is the process of understanding one’s own and others' mental states (i.e. thoughts, feelings, intentions, and desires). The ability to mentalize is essential for emotional regulation and healthy interpersonal relationships. Mentalization is conceptualized as a multidimensional capacity, integrating different dimensions: we can mentalize oneself and the others by inferring cognitive and affective mental states, using internal and external stimuli, in an automatic or controlled way. Good mentalization capacities involve the integration of all the dimensions into a coherent, flexible process. Mentalization represents a complex psychological process that is believed to be sustained by different mechanisms, some of them studied by other related domains, such as theory of mind, affect consciousness, empathy, psychological mindedness, mindfulness.
Mentalization capacities are believed to develop in the context of early social relationships, especially during the caregiver-child interactions. Through sensitive and responsive interactions, caregivers help children begin to understand that others have separate thoughts, feelings, and intentions. If the caregiver fails to mirror efficiently the child, mentalization imbalances can occur. Secure attachment relationships, where children feel safe and understood, are crucial for this development. In contrast, inconsistent or neglectful caregiving can disrupt the mentalization process, leading to difficulties in understanding emotions and relationships. Poor mentalization is linked to various psychological disorders such as borderline personality disorder (BPD) and depression. Mentalization impairments can be described in terms of imbalances in mentalization dimensions; imbalances in different dimensions have been linked to different psychopathologies. For this reason, Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) was developed to improve an individual's ability to understand their own and others' mental states, including thoughts, feelings, and intentions, particularly during times of emotional distress when their ability to reflect on mental states may break down. MBT uses different techniques, such as clarification, affective mirroring, validation, and mentalizing the moment aiming to foster the therapeutic environment where mentalization can be develop. Clinical stances such as curiosity and not-knowing, empathic approach are key tools in MBT.
The first part of the seminar will focus on the theoretical backgrounds of mentalization. The focus will be on defining mentalization dimensions and the associations between mentalization impairments and psychopathology. Furthermore, a developmental perspective of mentalization will be presented, focusing on parent-child interactions. The most common instruments and methodologies to assess mentalization capacities will be reviewed. The second part of the seminar will focus on the mentalization based therapy (MBT) concepts and how they are implemented in clinical practice. For this purpose, clinical cases will be used to identify the mentalization stances of both therapist and patient. Furthermore, role play will be used to put in practice different mentalization based techniques.
Recognition as a "seminar with psychopathological content": Yes |
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