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The impetus for this edited volume was a 2005 conference exploring the concept of mentalization as theorized by Peter Fonagy and his colleagues, notably Mary Target. The resulting book comprises thirteen expanded conference papers and two additional chapters to present a comprehensive discussion and critique of Fonagy's mentalization theory, including its relation to scholarship from a wide range of disciplines, and its many applications, particularly to the clinical situation.
Each chapter is well-developed, clear, and sophisticated; all are written by recognized leaders in the field. Included are theorists such as Fonagy, Target, Kernberg, Gabbard, and Donnel Stern, and researchers such as Blatt and Steele. The breadth of scholarship across the volume is impressive, as the authors consider mentalization in the context of infant research, attachment research, animal research, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind, as well as the spectrum of psychoanalytic models from ego psychology to intersubjectivity. A welcome feature of the book is the inclusion of diverse opinions and disagreements regarding mental-ization, enabling the reader to consider the value and limitations of this approach to conceptualizing the mind, development, and clinical process. Moreover, the reader of this volume gains a sense of dialogue among experts with differing views, and thereby a more textured understanding of mentalization than would be gained from reading these sources independently. Given the complexity of the topic and the wide range of expertise of the authors, it is notable that most chapters grant a central place to Fonagy's mentalization theory and, for the most part, acknowledge its specific language and assumptions as a starting point. Thus, in several ways, this volume exceeded my expectations for an edited book, particularly one whose chapters began as conference papers.
The book is organized in three sections: Mentalization and Attachment; Mentalization in Clinical and Neurosc