What is Mentalizing?

Mentalizing is a critical part of Resilient Families practice. It comes from AMBIT.

Mentalizing is the ability to see another from the inside; to be able to see life through someone else's eyes in order to make sense of their behaviours, understand their position and imagine how they may be feeling. 

"Mentalizing a problem" means reaching (via imaginative, curious, tentative enquiry) an understanding of the behaviours of the other person that "makes sense" in terms of their intentional mental state at the time.

You can also mentalize yourself - to understand and make sense of your own behaviours. 

Being curious about things is fundamental to mentalizing; we should always 'wonder why' something is happening, and use mentalizing to help us make sense of it, not make assumptions. 

An example of this in practice is the role of the Voice of the Child in meetings. A practitioner is asked to play the 'voice of the child' in a meeting of professionals or a TAF for example. In this role, you will put yourself in the shoes of the child, think about their lived experience and represent their voice in the room. This makes sure we stay connected to the child's lived experience and their views as much as possible. 

E-Learning

You can find more about Mentalizing on the Resilient Families E-Learning, available on the L and D portal