S1 E2--The Mentalizing Stance and The Mentalizing Poles Artwork

Mentalizing and Existence

A podcast about Mentalizing, Attachment, Existentialism, and Psychotherapy. Harvard trained psychiatrist, and psychiatric educator Dr. Daniel Price discusses Mentalizing. This skill--the ability to be mindful of our mind and the minds of others--is the basis of thought, language, culture, society, and most importantly-- meaning. Mentalizing is literally the most important thing, or more precisely process. Period. However, while almost all humans can do it to some degree, it often falters when we need it most. Fortunately, it is a skill we can cultivate, and strengthen--and when we do we can more fully connect with ourselves, and thereby recognize and remain mindful of the meaning of our existence.

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Mentalizing and Existence

S1 E2--The Mentalizing Stance and The Mentalizing Poles

July 30, 2022 • Daniel Price, MD • Season 1 • Episode 2

As we discussed in Episode 1, Mentalizing is paradoxically a skill that essentially all humans utilize every day, and a the same time is difficult to define, and is difficult to consistently do well. In this episode we attempt to provide further tools to understand mentalizing, and how to assess whether we are others are doing it well, or poorly--and if poorly, where we are getting stuck. The Mentalizing Stance names the attitude we want to continuously be in to mentalize well: 1) Be Curious 2) Be "Not-Knowing" 3) Be generous in our first interpretations of ourselves and others. If we are doing these things, we are mentalizing well. If we aren't in this attitude, we want to recognize that, and get back to the attitude as soon as we can.

The Mentalizing Poles offer another way to assess our mentalizing. Good Mentalizing consists of maintaining the mentalizing stance and moving flexibly across each of the spectra that the Poles define. Many of us tend to get stuck, when mentalizing, toward one end (pole) of these spectra, and have trouble being curious and not-knowing about the other end. Recognizing and correcting this can help us become better mentalizers.

For a graphic showing a version of the poles visit:
https://groupanalyticsociety.co.uk/contexts/issue-88/articles/setting-up-and-running-explicit-mentalizing-groups-101-simple-guidance-and-clinical-considerations/