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Updated: Jun 4, 2026
06:04
Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling
Published on: January 17, 2025
Change in reflective functioning during psychotherapy--a single-case study.
Frida Slagstad Gullestad1, Theresa Wilberg
1University of Oslo, Department of Psychology, Oslo, Norway. f.s.gullestad@psykologi.uio.no
Summary
This study explored how improving mentalization, the ability to understand mental states, impacts borderline personality disorder symptoms during long-term therapy. Enhanced reflective functioning correlated with reduced psychopathology, suggesting mentalization is key to treatment success.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Mental Health
Background:
- Deficits in mentalization are considered a core feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD).
- Enhancing mentalization is hypothesized as a central mechanism of change in psychotherapy for BPD.
- This study examines changes in mentalization and its relation to psychopathology in a long-term psychotherapy case.
Observation:
- Mentalization was assessed using the Reflective Functioning Scale (RF) from the Adult Attachment Interview.
- Changes in RF were tracked alongside clinical measures of psychopathology throughout the psychotherapy.
- The study highlights the utility of evaluating RF across its object, content, and process subdimensions.
Findings:
- A single-case study demonstrated changes in reflective functioning (RF) during long-term psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder.
- The study found a complex interplay between RF and psychopathology, particularly when RF was analyzed across its subdimensions.
- Improvements in reflective functioning were associated with reductions in overall psychopathology.
Implications:
- Evaluating the subdimensions of reflective functioning provides a more nuanced understanding of mentalization's role in BPD treatment.
- This research supports mentalization-based approaches in psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate the intricate relationship between mentalization, psychotherapy, and psychopathology in BPD.
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