The verb is better than the noun!

Like "Mentalizing", this is actually a better word than Mentalization as it is a VERB - and mentalization is something that we DO rather than a thing we have or do not have.'

The main details for understanding this concept are to be found at Mentalization.

To "Mentalize a problem"

This implies to reach (via imaginative, curious, tentative enquiry) an understanding of the behaviours of the other person that "makes sense of" these in terms of their intentional mental state at the time.

"My mother is screaming at me now because she has been very worried for my safety and because she wants to know that I am growing up to be able to look after myself properly, and manage any future relationships responsibly; i.e. to understand that treating people as I have just treated her is not alright. After I spoke to her six hours ago and said I would be back in a few minutes, she became increasingly worried when I did not turn up until now... she wants me to understand how difficult it will be for me if I do not learn this lesson at this stage in my life..."

Would that all late-returning adolescents were able to Mentalize a situation so accurately!