Mentalizing manoeuvres

10th June 2015

Mentalizing manoeuvres


This is a series of pages that all contain practical techniques that are designed to foster or sustain mentalizing in young people or families. Because Mentalization-based treatments draw heavily on a range of other models of working (arguing that most therapy that is effective has the effect of increasing mentalizing) some of these techniques are more "generic" than others...

General Systemic/Therapy Techniques

  1. Engagement techniques or "Joining"
  2. Hypothesizing
  3. Circular interviewing
  4. Enactments
  5. Focussing on Strengths
  6. Problem solving
  7. Challenging techniques
  8. Family Life Space (Genogram) Techniques
  9. Reframing
  10. PsychoEducation

Specific Mentalizing manoeuvres

  1. Mentalizing Loop
  2. Colombo-style Curiosity
  3. Pause and Review
  4. Feeling Spinner
  5. Mind-Scanning
  6. Simmering Down
  7. Therapist's use of Self
  8. Taking a break
  9. Coaching
  10. Training Challenge
  11. Stethoscope Games
  12. TV phone-in or Documentary games
  13. What makes me me?
  14. Find a falsehood
  15. Just the facts
  16. Draw my mind