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.
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“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]
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“…the utilization of psychotherapy, and especially group psychotherapy, to contribute to the development of abilities related to the “theory of mind” (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008; Fonagy & Bateman, 2007; Fonagy et al., 2017; Jones et al., 2019; Naami et al., 2020; Swenson & Choi-Kain, 2015; Tan et…”
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Shamji, J. F. (2022) · University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) · doi:10.12794/metadc1985747
Mentalization: An Overview of the Concept
Fitzgerald, A. (2025) · European Journal of Health Policy Humanization of Care and Medical Ethics · doi:10.21697/ejhp.1709.03
“A limited ability to mentalize is associated with more frequent breakdowns and the appearance of some mental disorders (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008).”
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“Mentalizing consists of self-focused and other-focused dimensions (Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008; Shai & Fonagy, 2014).”
Höller, I., Santangelo, P., Dienst, F., Forkmann, T., & Forster, S. D. (2025) · Journal of Affective Disorders Reports · doi:10.1016/j.jadr.2025.100943 · Cited by 4
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“Its advanced functioning in adulthood facilitates the emergence of mental-ized affect [23].”
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“A frontotemporal network— including the medial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal recognizes that another mind can never be fully transparent, thereby fostering flexible and adaptive interpersonal behavior (Choi-Kain and Gunderson 2008; Fonagy and Allison 2012).”
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“Conversely, impaired mentalization leads to emotional dysregulation or excessive rationalization under stress, destabilizing health behaviors (36, 37).”
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“A useful way of conceptualising the capacity these moments require is mentalization: the imaginative activity through which behaviour, both one’s own and that of others, is understood in terms of underlying mental states such as feelings, intentions, desires, and beliefs [11–13].”
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Poner en palabras, mentalización y psicoterapia
Castelli, G. L. (2010) · Aperturas psicoanalíticas: Revista de psicoanálisis
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
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