Fonagy, P;
Campbell, C;
Bateman, A;
(2017)
Mentalizing, attachment and epistemic trust in group therapy.
International Journal of Group Psychotherapy
, 67
(2)
pp. 176-201.
10.1080/00207284.2016.1263156.
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Abstract
The theory of mentalizing, the capacity to understand ourselves and others in terms of intentional mental states (i.e. needs, desires, feelings, beliefs, goals and reasons), is embedded in attachment thinking. The theory proposes that in the course of normal development, mentalizing is first experienced and supported in the context of attachment relationships. Secure attachment relationships, in which caregivers are interested in and attribute agency to the infant’s mind, create a safe environment in which the infant can start exploring other people’s minds (Fonagy & Luyten, 2016). The capacity for balanced mentalizing first emerges in these early interactional experiences, in which the infant finds himself reasonably accurately represented by the other as an intentional being with separate thoughts and feelings (Fonagy, Gergely, Jurist, & Target, 2002).
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