concept of mentalization signifies the basic intrapsychic transformation of one’s own inchoate somatic experiences into increasingly organized images, ideas, and words that could be modified, linked, and communicated. Other terms used interchangeably with mentalization in this literature include “metabolization” and “representation” (21) , “symbolization” or “symbol formation” (22) , “secondary mental processes” (23) , and “alpha-function” (24) . An individual’s felt experience can be perceived in several forms ranging from physical (somatic and motor) to internally visualized (images and dreams) to interpersonally communicated, verbally articulated forms.
To illustrate the distinctions among these forms of mentalization just described, we can consider the experience of anxiety on these three levels of representation. Starting with somatic and motor representations, one can experience stomachache, sweaty palms, and pacing as markers of anxiety. At this level of representation, anxiety is experienced more viscerally than mentally. To move to an increasingly conscious level of mental representation, one can imagine anxiety-laden images or dreams, like showing up at school without one’s homework. Finally, at the most mentalized or self-reflective level, one can conceive of a mental representation of anxiety in an idea or thought such as “I am anxious because I am getting close to my boyfriend, and I am afraid of intimacy.” This verbally articulated representation of one’s affect state is not only the most easily and unambiguously communicated form but also the easiest to potentially link to other representations of felt experience. Of importance, all of these representations of anxiety facilitate awareness of one’s own internal state. Greater awareness of internal experience can be achieved through linking multiple representations of experience together.
Metacognition
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