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'Rich' and 'poor' in mentalizing: Do expert mentalizers exist?
Simon Rogoff1, Alesia Moulton-Perkins1, Fiona Warren1
1Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|October 25, 2021
Summary
Expertise in mentalizing, the capacity to understand thoughts and feelings, was explored. Psychological Therapists showed higher self-mentalizing than controls, while individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder had lower capacities.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Mental Health
Background:
- Mentalization theory explores the capacity to understand self and others' thoughts and feelings.
- This capacity exists on a continuum from impairment to expertise.
- Expertise in mentalizing may be particularly relevant for psychological therapists.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if distinct groups (Psychological Therapists, Borderline Personality Disorder patients, general population controls) differ in mentalizing capacities.
- To explore the continuum of mentalizing abilities across different populations.
- To assess the utility of the Reflective Function Questionnaire (RFQ18) in identifying expertise in mentalizing.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional design comparing three groups: Psychological Therapists (n=51), individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (n=43), and non-clinical controls (n=35).
- Utilized self-report measures including an extended Reflective Function Questionnaire (RFQ18) for self- and other-mentalizing, alexithymia, and cognitive empathy.
- Statistical analysis to compare group scores on mentalizing dimensions and related constructs.
Main Results:
- Psychological Therapists scored higher on self-mentalizing than controls, and controls scored higher than individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder.
- Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder exhibited significantly lower cognitive empathy compared to the other two groups.
- No significant differences were found in other-mentalizing scores between groups using the RFQ18, contrary to predictions.
Conclusions:
- The Reflective Function Questionnaire (RFQ18) shows potential in identifying expertise in self-mentalizing.
- Psychological Therapists and individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder display distinct patterns of self- and other-mentalizing impairment.
- Findings have implications for understanding the effectiveness of psychological therapy and the skills of Psychological Therapists.
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