Two British psychologists, Peter Fonagy and Anthony Bateman, began writing about mentalization in the late 1980s. They introduced the term to describe the process of understanding our own behavior and that of others in terms of underlying feelings, desires, and intentions. Clinicians describe it as "holding mind in mind" or "thinking about thinking." This skill is crucial for understanding other people as well as being helpful in understanding and regulating our own emotions.

Mentalization allows us to reflect on our own behavior and that of those around us and to interpret the meaning of behavior rather than just seeing it as........

© Psychology Today