What is Mentalizing?
Mentalizing is an imaginative activity which helps us make sense of minds in relationships.
Mentalizing is an everyday activity and everyone mentalizes to a greater or lesser extent.
Although no direct correlation has been established to date, effective Mentalizing appears to be strongly associated with mental wellbeing, resilience and a capacity to heal from many mental health problems including past trauma.
When mentalizing goes well it helps us reduce misunderstandings and conflict in relationships. This results in low levels of interpersonal stress.
As a result, it is easier to develop and sustain healthy supportive relationships which we can call on when we are struggling with our feelings.
Conversely, when mentalizing fails we are more likely to experience misunderstandings and conflict in relationships. This results in interpersonal stress.
If relationships experience frequent misunderstandings and conflict, it is less likely we will have wide support network to call on when we are struggling, and we may be less likely to reach out to others for help. This can leave us alone with our problems, which can make them seem worse.
How does Mentalizing develop?
Mentalizing develops in the context of important early attachment relationships.
The development of Mentalizing can be inhibited by trauma from the outset (attachment) or by later events (especially relational trauma) but improving mentalizing can also help us make sense of difficult life experiences including trauma.
Individual Mentalizing abilities vary in quality, consistency and stability.
Can I improve my Mentalizing?
Mentalizing appears to benefit from what might be termed plasticity in that in most circumstances it can be improved in terms of quality, flexibility and consistency.
Mentalizing informed therapies aim to improve Mentalizing with the aim of associated benefits.