WHY  IS MENTALIZATION IMPORTANT?

On this page, you can learn about core concepts of our research surrounding mentalization, why it is important and what people can do to foster mentalization in themselves and their children.

CORE CONCEPTS

Mental-Ill-Health Continuum
We aim to understand how mentalization modifies risk or resilience for psychopathology
What is mentalization?
We aim to improve the assessment of this higher order cognition by adapting and developing new tools.
The forgotten competencies
We aim to develop translational interventions to move the focus on mentalization from the clinical

OUR PROJECTS

iMentalize (2022-present)

Based on an already-conducted pilot study, 45 additional video shorts have been developed to transfer the work on mentalization from the clinical setting to the community. 
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These shorts are the core element of a manualized program to foster mentalization through teachers and parents, enriching mentalization in the two environments where children spend the most time: school and family.
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MAMH Project (2022-present)

This project explores the association between mentalization and mental health from a transgenerational point of view assuming that children exposed to parents with good mentalizing skills will show multidimensional mental health (fewer symptoms, better functioning, higher well-being) than children in environments poor mentalizing .

Adaptation of the Mentalization Scale (MentS) (2022-present)

We are currently coducting the Catalan and Spanish adaptation of the MentS in agreement with the original authors.

Catalan and Spanish adaptation of the Emotional Availability Scale (EAS) (2021-present)

We are currently developing the Catalan and Spanish adaptation of the EAS in agreement with the author: Zeynep Biringen.

Adaptation of the Parental Reflective Function Questionnaire (PRFQ) (2021-present)

This is one of the first self-reports to assess mentalization. We are providing evidence of the psychometric properties of both Catalan and Spanish adaptations with adolescent and adult samples.

In a Potato (2020)

This is a pilot study of 8 animated shorts designed to help children and families work with the emotions generated during the first COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
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 The series emulates Homer Odyssey with a story of a family doomed to be exiled from their life and wandering through space confined inside a potato (yes, so strange as COVID situation might be for children) until they can return home. The project finality transferred active elements of salutogenesis using attractive materials like shorts and songs. Click here to listen to the song used to disseminate the program, and here to view the 8 shorts.
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Efficacy of Lighthouse Parenting (2019-present)

Lighthouse Parenting is a mentalization-based intervention focused on parents with the aim of improving child mental health. It was developed by Gerry Byrne and it has been implemented in the Sant Pere Claver Hospital, where we are currently evaluating its efficacy.

The mentalizing Project II (2017-2019)

We explored the contribution of self- and other- polarities of mentalizing to different dimensions of mental health in adolescents and youths.

Creation of the Method for Inducing Mentalization in Self-Referential Situations (MIMS) (2016)

We explored the trandiagnostic and trans-symptomatic relationship between mentalization and mental health in adolescents.

The Mentalizing Project (2014-2017)

The MIMS was created to demonstrate the context-dependence of hypermentalizing in social anxiety, thus providing the first interview assessing self-referential hypermentalizing in vivo. See here a description.

Creation of the Brief Reflective Function scale (BFR) (2014)

This is a very brief screening tool lasting only 4 minutes (4 items) which provides scores of self-, other- and general mentalization in adolescents and adults.

Creation of the Adolescent Mentalization Interview (AMI) (2014)

The AMI was specifically developed for the Mentalizing Project in order to obtain reliable measures of mentalization with a brief interview.