The DOI matches its Crossref record; 59 of the 59 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Mentalization: Ontogeny, Assessment, and Application in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder
Abstract
This article aims to review the development of the concept of mentalization, its applications in the understanding and treatment of borderline personality disorder, and the issue of its assessment. While conceptually derivative of theory of mind, Fonagy's concept of mentalization concerns more affectively and interpersonally complex understandings of oneself and others, reflecting abilities that enable an individual not only to navigate the social world effectively but also to develop an enriched, stable sense of self. The components of mentalization can be organized around self-/other-oriented, implicit/explicit, and cognitive/affective dimensions. Concepts of mindfulness, psychological mindedness, empathy, and affect consciousness are shown to partially overlap with mentalization within these three dimensions. Mentalization is assessed by the measure of reflective function, a scale to be used adjunctively on semistructured narrative interviews such as the Adult Attachment Interview. Its validity has not been fully tested, and its usage has been hampered by the time and expense it requires. Although the concept of mentalization is a useful heuristic that enables clinicians to adopt a coherent treatment approach, it may be too broad and multifaceted to be operationalized as a marker for specific forms of psychopathology such as borderline personality disorder. Research elucidating the relationship between reflective function, overlapping concepts, and features of borderline psychopathology is needed.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Whilst mentalising impairments or differences have not been previously linked to self-injury as such, they are a feature of borderline personality disorder [27–30], which is itself strongly linked with self-injury [31–33].”
From A 'choice', an 'addiction', a way 'out of the lost': Exploring self-injury in autistic people without intellectual disability (2019) · cites this paper as [29]
Citations
Cites
The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud
Freud, S. (1953) · Cited by 17,730
The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822 · Cited by 13,448
Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind?
Premack, D., & Woodruff, G. (1978) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x00076512 · Cited by 8,743
Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind” ?
Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A. M., & Frith, U. (1985) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/0010-0277(85)90022-8 · Cited by 8,599 · cited 1×
“’s conception of the interpersonal functioning difficulties in autism as theory of mind deficits (28) influenced Fonagy to apply the theory of mind concept to borderline personality disorder.”
Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition.
Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., Segal, Z. V., Abbey, S., Speca, M., Velting, D., et al. (2004) · Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice · doi:10.1093/clipsy.bph077 · Cited by 7,234
Wimmer, H. (1983) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/0010-0277(83)90004-5 · Cited by 6,305
Bagby, R. M., Parker, J. D. A., & Taylor, G. J. (1994) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(94)90005-1 · Cited by 5,293
Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: a conceptual and empirical review
Baer, R. A. (2003) · Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice · doi:10.1093/clipsy.bpg015 · Cited by 4,577
Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review.
Baer, R. A. (2003) · Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice · doi:10.1093/clipsy/bpg015 · Cited by 4,576
Affect Regulation, Mentalization, and the Development of the Self
Fonagy, P., Gergely, G., Jurist, E. L., & Target, M. (2018) · doi:10.4324/9780429471643 · Cited by 3,886
Research works printed but not linked: 10
- Fonagy P, 1991, Int J Psychoanal, 72, 639
- Clarkin JF, 1999, Yeomans F
- Allen JG, 2008, Fonagy P
- Zetzel ER, 1968, Int J Psychoanal, 49, 256
- Lecours S, 1997, Int J Psychoanal, 78, 855
- Segal H, 1957, Int J Psychoanal, 38, 391
- Kohut H, 1971, The Analysis of the Self
- Hahn TN, 1976, Miracle of Mindfulness
- Appelbaum SA, 1973, Concept and Essence. Int J Psychoanal, 54, 35
- Monsen JT, 1999, Progress in Self Psychol, 15, 287
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 301–400 of 563
Hannibal, N., & Schwantes, M. (2017) · Voices A World Forum for Music Therapy · doi:10.15845/voices.v17i2.897 · Cited by 8
“…and Treatment even published an entire issue in 2015 on the use of mentalization in the treatment of individuals with BPD. Mentalization utilizes the preferred clinical language that is used in many interdisciplinary teams in psychiatry (Bateman & Fonagy, 2007; Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008).”
BackgroundChild psychodynamic therapy: contemporary trends in treatment development
Goodman, G., & Midgley, N. (2019) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-813373-6.00016-7 · Cited by 8
The Interpersonal Model of Group Psychotherapy
Leszcz, M., & Malát, J. (2011) · doi:10.1002/9781119950882.ch3 · Cited by 8
Yun, S., Jo, S.-H., Jeon, H.-J., Choo, B.-K., Seok, J., Shin, H. K., Kim, I. Y., Choi, S., & Koo, B. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1293347 · Cited by 7
“Psychic equivalence is a well-documented characteristic among individuals with BPD, and patients with BPD often exhibit highly specific behavioral patterns, such as being exceptionally aggressive or displaying dependency on particular individuals (37, 38).”
BackgroundGood-Enough Therapy: A Review of the Empirical Basis of Good Psychiatric Management
Kramer, U. (2024) · American Journal of Psychotherapy · doi:10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20230041 · Cited by 7
Schwarzer, N.-H., Nolte, T., Fonagy, P., Feigenbaum, J., King‐Casas, B., Rüfenacht, E., Gingelmaier, S., Leibowitz, J., Pilling, S., & Montague, P. R. (2024) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107787 · Cited by 8
Balzen, K. M., Sharp, C., Unzurruzaga, E., Eguren, A., & Pérez, L. (2024) · Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology · doi:10.2478/sjcapp-2024-0012 · Cited by 7
“Alexithymia constitutes aspects of difficulties identifying internal states, and is related to mentalization (39,40).”
'MENTALIZATION': A TOOL TO MEASURE TEACHER EMPATHY IN PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
Swan, P., & Riley, P. (2012) · Cited by 7
Niveaux de mentalisation de la souffrance en clinique : agonie, détresse et tristesse adaptative
Lecours, S. (2016) · Revue québécoise de psychologie · doi:10.7202/1040169ar · Cited by 7
“LA MENTALISATION La mentalisation est un concept large qui englobe une multitude d’horizons théoriques (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008).”
BackgroundEmerging Psychotherapies for Psychosis
Knauss, D. P. C., Ridenour, J. M., & Hamm, J. A. (2018) · Journal of Psychiatric Practice · doi:10.1097/pra.0000000000000329 · Cited by 7
Crespi, B. J. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108580298.045 · Cited by 7
To Teach and Delight: The Varieties of Learning From Fiction
Best, J. (2020) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1177/1089268020977173 · Cited by 9
“…(sometimes known as theory of mind [TOM]) describes the way humans make sense of their social world by imagining certain mental states (such as declarative knowledge, beliefs, or motives) that are the basis of other peoples’ behaviors in interpersonal interactions (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008).”
BackgroundLaw, A. R. M., Thackeray, L. A., Morris, E., & Sleed, M. (2021) · Journal of Infant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy · doi:10.1080/15289168.2021.1918044 · Cited by 8
“The construct of mentalization encompasses several dimensions (Luyten & Fonagy, 2015) and is seen as an “umbrella concept” in that it accommodates many related concepts, such as attachment (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008).”
BackgroundLysaker, P. H., & Erickson, M. A. (2010) · PSN · doi:10.1007/s11836-010-0149-4 · Cited by 9
“Comme l’ont remarque Choi-Kain et Gunderson [ 10 ], il existe deja un certain nombre de psychotherapies qui visent a ameliorer les capacites metacognitives des individus atteints d’autres sortes de maladies mentales, en particulier les borderlines et autres troubles de la personnalite [3].”
BackgroundAproximación Neurodinámica a la Cognición Social
Rodríguez, D. A. L., & Cárdenas, F. P. (2017) · Universitas Psychologica · doi:10.11144/javeriana.upsy15-5.ancs · Cited by 8
Kealy, D., Piper, W. E., Ogrodniczuk, J. S., Joyce, A. S., & Weideman, R. (2018) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.2346 · Cited by 7
Abi‐Habib, R., Wehbe, N., Badr, K., & Tohme, P. (2019) · International Journal of Forensic Mental Health · doi:10.1080/14999013.2019.1684403 · Cited by 6
“In sum, empathy focuses on understanding the other and feeling with them whereas mentalizing is more interpersonal; it relates to how others’ feelings are affecting us, and how in turn, this can modify our response to them (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008; Fan et al., 2011).”
BackgroundFrederiksen, C. K., Solbakken, O. A., Licht, R. W., Christensen, A.-E., Jørgensen, C. R., & Telléus, G. K. (2022) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103554 · Cited by 7
Affect Consciousness and Adult Attachment
Lech, B., Andersson, G., & Holmqvist, R. (2012) · Psychology · doi:10.4236/psych.2012.39102 · Cited by 7
“The relationship between the concepts of mentalization and affect consciousness (Monsen et al., 1996) has been theoreticcally outlined by Mohaupt, Holgersen, Binder and Nielsen (2006) and Choi-Kain and Gunderson (2008).”
BackgroundBo, S., Abu-Akel, A. M., & Kongerslev, M. (2014) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-405172-0.00008-9 · Cited by 7
Mentalizing individuals, families and systems: Towards a translational socioecological approach
Luyten, P., Malcorps, S., BATEMAN, A. W., & Fonagy, P. (2024) · Psychology and Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice · doi:10.1111/papt.12544 · Cited by 8
“…used as an umbrella term encompassing related concepts such as empathy, mindfulness, theory of mind, psychological mindedness, alexithymia and insightfulness (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008; Luyten, Malcorps, et al., 2019), each focusing on specific dimensions or sub-components of mentalizing.”
Lazarov, A., Liberman, N., & Dar, R. (2023) · Current Neuropharmacology · doi:10.2174/1570159x21666230920165403 · Cited by 6
“One potential candidate for this goal may be mentalization-based techniques [83, 177-179], designed to improve awareness of internal experiences by integrating various mental representations of these experiences [180].”
BackgroundAttachment, Mentalization, Emotion Dysregulation, and Empathy in Eating Disorders
Gagliardini, G., Pandolfi, G., & Colli, A. (2024) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/nmd.0000000000001781 · Cited by 7
Jurist, J., Traynor, J. M., Murray, G. E., Ren, B., Masland, S. R., Mermin, S. A., Meehan, K. B., & Choi-Kain, L. W. (2025) · Psychopathology · doi:10.1159/000543363 · Cited by 8
Self-citationBoniwell, N., Etheridge, L., Bagshaw, R., Sullivan, J., & Watt, A. A. (2015) · The Journal of Mental Health Training Education and Practice · doi:10.1108/jmhtep-01-2015-0002 · Cited by 6
“Nurses in this environment are in need of specialist training regarding personality development and the various models (for example see Choi-Kain et al., 2008) that describe the possible interactions between personality disorder, attachment and mental illness.”
BackgroundMorán, J., Martìnez, C., Salinas, M. F. D., Chamorro, S. G., Beas, K. A., & Duarte, J. (2020) · CES Psicología · doi:10.21615/cesp.13.3.4 · Cited by 6
Parada‐Fernández, P., Herrero‐Fernández, D., & Arcos, I. R. (2023) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12944 · Cited by 9
Huang, Y., Chen, T., Dziobek, I., & Tseng, H. (2023) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-023-01321-0 · Cited by 10
“Mentalizing capacity encompasses both cognitive and affective dimensions, including the ability to infer others’ cognitive states (cognitive mentalizing) and the ability to understand others’ emotional states through nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions (affective mentalizing) [5, 8].”
BackgroundPedone, R., Barbarulo, A. M., Colle, L., Semerari, A., & Grimaldi, P. (2021) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/nmd.0000000000001304 · Cited by 6
de la Cerda, C., & Dagnino, P. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.725739 · Cited by 6
“Consequently, enhancing mentalizing is an essential mechanism through which psychotherapy works (Choi-Kain and Gunderson, 2008) and becomes a key concept for understanding change.”
BackgroundMaheux, J., Ethier, C., & Trépanier, E. (2022) · Service social · doi:10.7202/1089870ar · Cited by 14
Pedone, R., & Semerari, A. (2023) · PubMed Central · doi:10.36131/cnfioritieditore20230606 · Cited by 6
Different approaches to understanding patients in general practice in Denmark: a qualitative study
Davidsen, A. S., & Reventlow, S. D. (2011) · British Journal of Guidance and Counselling · doi:10.1080/03069885.2011.552600 · Cited by 6
“Empathy is more other-oriented while mentalisation is equally self- and other-oriented (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008).”
BackgroundFluctuations of mentalization in the context of relational stimuli and representational contents
Górska, D. (2018) · Current Issues in Personality Psychology · doi:10.5114/cipp.2018.80197 · Cited by 6
MacIntosh, H. B., Fletcher, K., & Ainsworth, L. M. (2019) · Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy · doi:10.1080/15332691.2019.1590274 · Cited by 6
“…Functioning (RF) scale is the gold standard for assessing mentalizing but cannot be used to measure mentalizing with any other transcript than with the Adult Attachment Inventory (AAI), a semistructured interview (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008; Fonagy, Steele, Steele, Moran, & Higgitt, 1991).”
BackgroundAre difficulties in mentalizing associated with severity of Antisocial Personality Disorder
Newbury-Helps, J. (2011) · UCL Discovery (University College London) · Cited by 5
Validation of the Mentalization Scale (MentS) in francophone control and clinical samples
Descartes, F., Besch, V., Bouteloup, M., Nicastro, R., Pham, E., Rüfenacht, E., Perroud, N. A., & Debbané, M. (2025) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0332724 · Cited by 6
“…the RFS assesses multiple qualitative aspects of reflective functioning such as plausibility, complexity, and consistency, its scoring system remains unidimensional, thus limiting the interpretability of scores, and preventing factorial statistical examination of its underlying structure [23].”
Griem, J., Kolla, N. J., & Tully, J. (2022) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1007121 · Cited by 7
“However, even when studies attempt greater specificity, for example by reference to mentalization, different researchers may in fact be referring to subtly different neurocognitive functions (Choi-Kain and Gunderson, 2008).”
BackgroundGoshen, D., Stein, D., Kurman, J., Farbstein, D., Enoch‐Levy, A., Aival‐Naveh, E., Gur, E., Yoeli, N., Bretler, T., Koren, D., et al. (2023) · Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1186/s40337-023-00836-6 · Cited by 6
“A core assumption in this model is that mentalizing is not a single capacity, but rather as a set of related and partially overlapping psychological abilities, such as empathy, alexithymia, and theory of mind (ToM) [6].”
BackgroundVolkert, J., Ilagan, G. S., Iliakis, E. A., Ren, B., Schröder‐Pfeifer, P., & Choi-Kain, L. W. (2024) · Psychology and Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice · doi:10.1111/papt.12516 · Cited by 5
Self-citationErnst, M., Brähler, E., Beutel, M. E., Kruse, J., & Andreas, S. (2024) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2024.06.109 · Cited by 7
Alsarraf, J. J., & Nilsson, Y. (2009) · Cited by 5
Adapting another person’s affective state modulates brain potentials to unpleasant pictures
Paul, S., Endraß, T., Kathmann, N., & Simón, D. (2016) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.08.010 · Cited by 5
Valdés, N., Arriagada, L., & Álamo, N. (2016) · Studies in Psychology Estudios de Psicología · doi:10.1080/02109395.2016.1205872 · Cited by 5
“Instead of a rich emotional inner world, depressive patients showed their inability to report — and experience — the other’s affects and mental states (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008).”
BackgroundPersonal and parents' life stories in patients with borderline personality disorder.
Lind, M., Thomsen, D. K., Bøye, R., Heinskou, T., Simonsen, S., & Jørgensen, C. R. (2019) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12529 · Cited by 29
Angulo, B., Estévez, A., Iriarte, L., & Troyas, I. (2019) · Ansiedad y Estrés · doi:10.1016/j.anyes.2019.04.004 · Cited by 5
Ciciolla, L. M., Addante, S., Shreffler, K. M., & Croff, J. M. (2023) · Women s Health Reports · doi:10.1089/whr.2022.0090 · Cited by 5
“Moreover, mindfulness emphasizes acceptance of one’s inner experience and mentalization emphasizes construction of a representation and meaning related to one’s inner experiences.(26) When used in combination, mindfulness and men-”
Applying principles of mentalizing based therapy to music therapy methods
Head, J. H., & Orme, W. H. (2023) · The Arts in Psychotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.aip.2023.102017 · Cited by 5
Goldman, R. E., Hilsenroth, M. J., Gold, J. R., Cersosimo, B. H., Levy, S. R., & Owen, J. J. (2018) · Journal of Psychotherapy Integration · doi:10.1037/int0000124 · Cited by 5
“These inherent affective, cognitive, impulse control, and interpersonal difficulties may interfere with engagement in treatment and contribute to high dropout rates (Bennett, Parry, & Ryle, 2006; Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008; Gunderson, 2003; Swift, Greenberg, Tompkins, & Parkin, 2017).”
BackgroundAttachment and mentalization in contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy
Debbané, M. (2019) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-813373-6.00003-9 · Cited by 6
Frederiksen, C. K., Solbakken, O. A., Licht, R. W., Jørgensen, C. R., Rodrigo-Domingo, M., & Telléus, G. K. (2021) · Medicina · doi:10.3390/medicina57060627 · Cited by 5
“, emotion regulation/difficulties in emotion regulation, alexithymia, and mentalized affectivity [15,57].”
BackgroundMaheux, J., Collin‐Vézina, D., MacIntosh, H. B., Berthelot, N., & Hétu, S. (2016) · Revue québécoise de psychologie · doi:10.7202/1040162ar · Cited by 4
“Enfin, la mentalisation est une capacité humaine essentielle à l’établissement de relations saines et joue un rôle central dans le sens et l’organisation de soi (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008; Fonagy & Target, 1997).”
BackgroundEmotional Abuse, Neglect, and Personality Disorders: Mediating Role of Alexithymia
권지은, 이승복, & Taeg, H. S. (2012) · The Korean Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.15842/kjcp.2012.31.1.004 · Cited by 4
Language skills and interpersonal trust in adolescents with and without mental illness
Clarke, A., Rose, T., & Meredith, P. J. (2022) · International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology · doi:10.1080/17549507.2022.2075466 · Cited by 6
“Whereas mentalisation emphasises awareness of emotions in understanding behaviour, ToM emphasises cognitive domains in this process (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008).”
BackgroundStix, K., Dalkner, N., Bengesser, S., Birner, A., Fellendorf, F. T., Häussl, A., Lenger, M., Maget, A., Painold, A., Platzer, M., et al. (2024) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2024.116039 · Cited by 4
Empathy and Mentalizing of Mental Health Nurses: A Cross‐Sectional Correlational Study
Free, G., Swildens, W. E., Hoogendoorn, A. W., Beekman, A. T. F., & van Meijel, B. (2025) · International Journal of Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.1111/inm.70002 · Cited by 6
“The idea of empathy and mentalizing as two partly overlapping concepts, as suggested by Choi-Kain and Gunderson (2008), can be largely confirmed.”
Schaarsberg, R. E. K., Klinkhamer, N., van Dam, L., Bouwmeester, S., Lindauer, R., & Popma, A. (2025) · Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology · doi:10.1007/s10802-025-01313-1 · Cited by 5
“This reflective process is the essence of mentalization, as previously explained (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008; Fonagy et al., 1998).”
Maheux, J., Normandin, L., Parent, K., Ensink, K., & Sabourin, S. (2016) · Revue québécoise de psychologie · doi:10.7202/1040168ar · Cited by 4
“Il s’agit de la capacité à s’imaginer et à se représenter ses états mentaux et sentiments qui sous-tendent ses propres comportements et ceux des autres lors d’interactions sociales (Bateman & Fonagy, 2004; Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008; Fonagy, 1999).”
BackgroundThe impact of integrated object representations on rejection sensitivity.
Meehan, K. B., Cain, N. M., Clarkin, J. F., & Panfilis, C. D. (2017) · Psychoanalytic Psychology · doi:10.1037/pap0000162 · Cited by 6
“Furthermore, calls to rely less on a single score in these areas of research in favor of more multidimensional assessments (e.g., Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008) have yet to be fully implemented.”
BackgroundPereira, J. G., & Debbané, M. (2018) · Studies in brain and mind · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-73993-9_12 · Cited by 5
“The concept is also comparable to many others (Choi-Kain and Gunderson, 2008), such as empathy (mentalizing the other), mindfulness (mentalizing the self), social cognition (cognitive mentalizing), and metacognition (thinking about thinking), etc.”
Performance-Based Assessment of Social Cognition in Borderline Versus Psychotic Psychopathology
Ridenour, J. M., Lewis, K. C., Poston, J. M., & Ciecalone, D. N. (2019) · Rorschachiana Journal of the International Society for the Rorschach · doi:10.1027/1192-5604/a000114 · Cited by 4
“Other related terms include theory of mind, reflective functioning, metacognition, empathy, psychological mindedness, and mindfulness (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008).”
BackgroundElyoseph, Z., Geisinger, D., Aival‐Naveh, E., Zaltzman, R., & Gordon, C. R. (2023) · The Cerebellum · doi:10.1007/s12311-023-01536-2 · Cited by 4
“It is an umbrella term which contains or overlaps with other terms, such as among others, theory of mind (ToM), social cognition, perspective taking, and empathy [18].”
A qualitative examination of attachment-based concepts in probation supervision
Ansbro, M. (2019) · Probation Journal · doi:10.1177/0264550519833458 · Cited by 4
“However, any therapeutic or professional change-inducing relationship is posited as an opportunity to flex the mentalization muscle (Choi-Kain and Gunderson, 2008), as are many ordinary human interactions (Allen, 2006).”
BackgroundDefensive patterns in reflective group supervisions at Child Health Centres
Salomonsson, B. (2019) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.21790 · Cited by 4
“However, to interpret RF scores is not self-evident because although the scale assesses a multidimensional capacity, it ends up in a “unidimensional score” (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008, p. 1133).”
The Neurobiology of Attachment and Mentalizing: A Neurodevelopmental Perspective
Luyten, P., & Fonagy, P. (2018) · UCL Discovery (University College London) · Cited by 4
From Attachment Theory to Mentalization: Historical Background and Clinical Implications
Bahn, G. H. (2013) · Cited by 4
Krupp, J., Liesen, L., & Hamburger, A. (2020) · Zeitschrift für psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie · doi:10.13109/zptm.2020.66.2.164 · Cited by 4
A tudatelmélet életkori különbségei, kapcsolata a munkamemória kapacitással és a társas pozícióval
Gál, Z. (2016) · doi:10.14232/phd.2905 · Cited by 5
The Assessment of Relational Risk in Early Parent-Infant Relationships
Sleed, M. (2014) · UCL Discovery (University College London) · Cited by 4
Mentalizing Oneself and Others in Anorexia Nervosa: From Subjective Evaluation to Performance
Auger, É., Nandrino, J., & Doba, K. (2025) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.23791 · Cited by 4
O’Driscoll, C., O'Reilly, S., Jaremba, A. J., Nolte, T., & Shaikh, M. (2025) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/79296 · Cited by 3
“Mindfulness also overlaps with some cognitive and affective aspects of mentalizing [28] and may improve related aspects of social cognition, such as mental state attribution and empathetic concern [29] and support more accurate perceptions of others [24].”
Predictors of suicidal ideation in Italian veterinarians
Varallo, G., Zagaria, A., Baldini, V., Schianchi, A., Brščić, M., Panero, M., Franceschini, C., Schimmenti, A., & Musetti, A. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-68330-w · Cited by 3
Gambin, M., & Święcicka, M. (2016) · Polish Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1515/ppb-2016-0023 · Cited by 3
이현주, & 안명희 (2012) · The Korean Journal of Woman Psychology · doi:10.18205/kpa.2012.17.3.006 · Cited by 3
Mentaliseringsteorien – mangler og muligheder
Davidsen, A. S., & Fosgerau, C. F. (2016) · Tidsskrift for Forskning i Sygdom og Samfund · doi:10.7146/tfss.v13i24.20085 · Cited by 3
Integrating Attachment Theory into Probation Practice: A Qualitative Study
Ansbro, M. (2017) · The British Journal of Social Work · doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcx161 · Cited by 3
“RF has been critiqued as an exceptionally broad concept (Choi-Kain and Gunderson, 2008; Katznelson, 2014), and an elusive”
BackgroundAival‐Naveh, E., Rothschild‐Yakar, L., & Kurman, J. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.23121 · Cited by 3
Taubner, S., & Kotte, S. C. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-81938-5_48 · Cited by 3
Taubner, S., & Kotte, S. C. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-45119-9_41-1 · Cited by 3
Mentalizasyon Ölçeği’nin Türkçe Geçerlilik ve Güvenirlik Çalışması
İLK, G., & Bilge, Y. (2024) · Yaşam Becerileri Psikoloji Dergisi · doi:10.31461/ybpd.1484353 · Cited by 3
Validation of the english version of the Multidimensional Mentalizing Questionnaire (MMQ)
Cruz, G. V., Rochat, L., Liberacka-Dwojak, M., Wiłkość-Dębczyńska, M., Khan, R., & Khazaal, Y. (2024) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-024-01837-z · Cited by 3
“However, mentalizing mainly concerns the reflection of cognitive and affective mental states in the context of emotional arousal [3, 4].”
BackgroundMiddlehurst, R., Moghaddam, N. G., Dawson, D. L., & Reeve, A. (2024) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.3038 · Cited by 3
Choe, H., & Song, H. (2017) · Studies on Korean Youth · doi:10.14816/sky.2017.28.3.179 · Cited by 3
La théorie de l’esprit du vendeur et l’empathie : similitudes et différences
Mefteh, K. C. (2021) · Recherches en Sciences de Gestion · doi:10.3917/resg.144.0103 · Cited by 3
Wiwe, M. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.789120 · Cited by 3
Kapoor, S. N. (2008) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2008.01290.x · Cited by 3
“nificantly improve the response in patients with borderline personality disorders (10, 11).”
BackgroundMentalisierungsbasierte Prävention mit Familien
Taubner, S. (2018) · Psychoanalytische Familientherapie · doi:10.30820/8217.02 · Cited by 2
Salaminios, G., Hazlitt, A., Fonagy, P., Debbané, M., & Nolte, T. (2025) · Schizophrenia Bulletin · doi:10.1093/schbul/sbaf095 · Cited by 3
“12 These enable individuals to construe representational models of human behavior and inner experience in order to navigate the complexity of social interactions, as well as reflect on and regulate their own thinking and feeling states.”
Potz, A., Gendron, A., & Maheux, J. (2021) · Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne · doi:10.1037/cap0000289 · Cited by 2
Benfante, A., Cisarò, F., Ribaldone, D. G., Castelli, L., Sandroni, N., & Romeo, A. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20237125 · Cited by 3
“According to the mentalization-based approach, several biological and environmental factors are known to be predisposing to increased vulnerability to the development of FSDs [2,3,14,15].”
BackgroundResultInfluentialTrauma and Dissociation in Young Offenders
Cori, R. D. (2024) · British Journal of Psychotherapy · doi:10.1111/bjp.12893 · Cited by 3
Chen, W., Li, Y., Jahrami, H., Wang, W., Zheng, W., Huang, Y., Bragazzi, N. L., & Gao, W. (2024) · Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment · doi:10.2147/ndt.s475659 · Cited by 2
“21 To evaluate convergent validity, Spearman correlations were calculated between the RFQY-C scores and those of the BES and TAS-20.”
MethodPersonality Disorders, Attachment, and Social Cognition
Parashar, N., Kellermann, A., Arnau, R. C., & Green, B. A. (2024) · Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment · doi:10.1007/s10862-024-10186-5 · Cited by 3
“However, mentalization is theoretically distinct from those abilities, incorporating a broader framework drawing on elements of those constructs, and incorporating elements from others (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008).”
Ydrefelt, E., Björling, P., Freidlitz, J., & Sundström, N. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780191964343.003.0022 · Cited by 2
Katz, D. E., Monette, G. A., Gaskovski, P., & Eastwood, J. D. (2016) · Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1080/10503307.2016.1158432 · Cited by 2
“…theory, the observing ego (Glickauf-Hughes, Wells, & Chance, 1996; Miller, Isaacs, & Haggard, 1965; Rawn, 1991; Sterba, 1934) and the more recent concept of mentalization can both be considered types of reflexivity (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008; Fonagy, Gergely, Jurist, & Target, 2002).”
BackgroundMentalisierungsfähigkeit und Behandlungserfolg in der Psychosomatischen Rehabilitation
Peters, M., Budde, A., Jeising, A., Lindner, J., & Schulz, H. (2022) · Zeitschrift für psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie · doi:10.13109/zptm.2022.68.4.397 · Cited by 2
Emotional-instabile Persönlichkeitsstörung vom Borderline-Typ
Gahr, M. L., Fladung, A.-K., Freudenmann, R. W., Wolf, R. C., Schönfeldt‐Lecuona, C., & Schmid, M. M. (2013) · Nervenheilkunde · doi:10.1055/s-0038-1628506 · Cited by 2
A fusion of horizons for psychotherapy research: Introduction to special section
Muran, J. C. (2009) · Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1080/10503300903015191 · Cited by 2
“One challenge, for example, can be described as the subjectification of the field, which involves any attempt to study subjectivity, whether by quantitative or qualitative methods (eg, Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008 ; Rottenberg & Johnson, 2007 ).”
BackgroundMentaliseringsteori og interaktionsanalyse. Integration af sprog og psykologi
Fosgerau, C. F. (2011) · NyS Nydanske Sprogstudier · doi:10.7146/nys.v41i41.13660 · Cited by 2
Sollberger, D., Walter, M., & Psychotherapie, S. (2010) · Cited by 2
Metadata
- Authors
- Choi-Kain, L. W., & Gunderson, J. G.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- ORCID
- Choi-Kain, Lois W.
- Venue
- American Journal of Psychiatry
- Published
- 2008-09
- Volume
- 165
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1127-1135
- ISSN
- 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
- 1535-7228
- OpenAlex
- W2018329493
- Cited by
- 565
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 50 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 39 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 33
- FWCI
- 3.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- mentalization, borderline personality disorder, theory of mind, reflective functioning, Adult Attachment Interview, mindfulness, psychological mindedness, empathy, self-other orientation, attachment, treatment of borderline personality disorder
- MeSH terms
- Affect, Borderline Personality Disorder, Cognition Disorders, Consciousness, Culture, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Interview, Psychological, Mental Processes, Object Attachment, Psychological Theory, Severity of Illness Index, Narration
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
