Mentalization and the Rorschach

Abstract

The concept of mentalization – the ability to think about mental states (e.g., feelings, intentions, motivations) of self and others – has become increasingly influential in psychoanalysis ( Bateman & Fonagy, 2004 ; Fischer-Kern et al., 2010 ; Fonagy, 1991 ). Unfortunately, the clinical application and further exploration of the construct has been limited by the time-consuming and highly specialized methods used to assess it ( Choi-Kain & Gunderson, 2008 ; Meehan, Levy, Reynoso, Hill, & Clarkin, 2009 ). In that mentalization operates predominantly outside of conscious awareness and involves the assessment of mental representations of self and other, projective measures such as the Rorschach are possibly the most efficient to evaluate and further explore this construct. In this paper we present a conceptual framework for how texture responses (T) as they relate to the ability to form attachments, and human and human movement responses (M+/M–, GHR:PHR) as they relate to empathy, social understanding, and boundary formation, may be utilized in the assessment of mentalization.