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It is, perhaps, commonplace to observe that psychoanalysis is a field in continuous flux. It is nonetheless true. Substantial advances in, among other things, neuro- and evolutionary biology, theory of the mind, attachment theory, and infant research are only a few of the areas in our field in vital ferment. The concept of mentalization, the overarching concern of the volume under consideration, takes up these and other ideas. It is the authors’ position that psychoanalytic interventions informed by a focus on mentalization have become a central part of an ongoing evolution in analytic theory and practice, with its beginnings in Kohut's self psychology.
The present volume is based on papers presented at a conference at which some of the foremost thinkers in the field came together to consider how Peter Fonagy and Mary Target's notions of mentalization and reflective functioning have expanded and changed the way we think about basic contemporary psychoanalytic constructs. Subsequently, the editors of the volume, Elliot L. Jurist, Arietta Slade, and Sharone Bergner, added new material, further expanding on the ideas presented at the conference.
What precisely is mentalization? And precisely how might it inform our practice as clinicians?
Put simply, the term refers to the human capacity for reflecting on one's thoughts and feelings, and the thoughts and feelings of others, while recognizing each as separate intentional mental states that motivate behavior. Our mind mediates reality; which is to say that there is an “I” that creates experience, not just a “me” to whom experience happens. This capacity is a profoundly important dimension of human experience and develops within the context of each individual's relational history. While we are born with the ability to develop reflective function, as Elliot Jurist fittingly states, “The brain only becomes a mind as a result of appropriate input from caregivers” (p. 88).
From an evolutionary standpoint as a social species, ment