Mentalizing is the capacity to understand others and oneself in terms of internal mental states. It is assumed to be underpinned by four dimensions: automatic-controlled, internally-externally focused, self-other, and cognitive-affective. Research suggests that mental disorders are associated with different imbalances in these dimensions. Addressing the quality of mentalizing as part of psychosocial treatments may benefit individuals with various mental disorders. We suggest that mentalizing is a helpful transtheoretical and transdiagnostic concept to explain vulnerability to psychopathology and its treatment. This review summarizes the mentalizing approach to psychopathology from a developmental socioecological evolutionary perspective. We then focus on the application of the mentalizing approach to personality disorders, and we review studies that have extended this approach to other types of psychopathology, including depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. We summarize core principles of mentalization-based treatments and preventive interventions and the evidence for their effectiveness. We conclude with recommendations for future research.

中文翻译：

---

精神病理学的心理化方法：最先进的技术和未来的方向。

心理化是根据内部心理状态理解他人和自己的能力。它被假定为由四个维度支撑：自动控制的、内部-外部关注的、自我他人的和认知情感的。研究表明，精神障碍与这些维度的不同失衡有关。将心理化的质量作为社会心理治疗的一部分可能会使患有各种精神障碍的个体受益。我们认为心理化是一个有用的跨理论和跨诊断概念，可以解释对精神病理学及其治疗的脆弱性。本综述从发展社会生态进化的角度总结了精神病理学的心理化方法。然后我们专注于心理化方法在人格障碍中的应用，我们回顾了将这种方法扩展到其他类型的精神病理学的研究，包括抑郁症、焦虑症和饮食失调症。我们总结了基于心理化的治疗和预防干预的核心原则及其有效性的证据。我们总结了对未来研究的建议。