Mentalization (Let’s understand our Minds)

What is Mentalization? Our Ability to understand & experience the mental state of oneself or others that underlies overt behavior. You mentalize in these DIMENSIONS 

  • Automatic/controlled mentalizing
  • Mentalizing the self/others 
  • Mentalizing with regards to internal/external features 
  • Cognitive/affective mentalizing

Forms of NonMenatizing - Psychic Equivalent (If your Thoughts & feelings become too real to a point where it is extremely difficult to entertain possible alternatives). Teleological (ModeYour mind recognizes & believe only if the outcome are physically observable) Pretend Mode (Your Thoughts & feelings become severed  from reality) 

Mentalizing Based Treatment. What would a psychiatrist do! 

1)Empathic Validation  

2) Classification & Exploration Affects and affect Identification 

3)Presenting Alternative Perspective 

4) Mentalizing the Relationship

You may be a Borderline personality Disorder!!  Do you predominantly mentalize? 

1) Mentalizing more to Automatic thoughts & emotions 

2) Hyper mentalizing in relation to self 

3) Mentalizing more to external Indicators 

4) More of Affective Mentalizing