Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T19:24:27.488Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Beyond sensorimotor imitation in the neonate: Mentalization psychotherapy in adulthood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2017

Martin Desseilles
Martin Desseilles*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Namur, Namur B-5000, Belgium. [email protected]://mentalhealthsciences.com/index_en.html Clinique Psychiatrique des Frères Alexiens, Henri-Chapelle, B4841, Belgium.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Despite the persuasiveness of Keven & Akins' (K&A) review, we argue that mentalization, or the ability to interpret the mental states of oneself and others, is required to construct the neonate mind, going far beyond sensorimotor imitation. This concept, informed by certain psychoanalytic and attachment theories, has produced a form of therapy called mentalization-based psychotherapy, which aims to improve emotional regulation. Our aim here is to shed light on a form of neonatal imitation that goes beyond sensorimotor imitation.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e389
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bateman, A. & Fonagy, P. (2006) Mentalization-based treatment for borderline personality disorders – A practical guide. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1978) Attachement et perte. Presse Universitaire de France.Google Scholar
Brazelton, T. B. (1987) What every baby knows. Da Capo.Google Scholar
Desseilles, M., Grosjean, B. & Perroud, N. (2015) Le Manuel du Borderline. Eyrolles.Google Scholar
Hensch, T. K. (2016) The power of the infant brain. Scientific American 314:64–69. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0216-64.Google Scholar
Lorenz, K. (1935) Der Kumpan in der Umwelt des Vogels. Der Artgenosse als auslösendes Moment sozialer Verhaltensweisen. Journal für Ornithologie 83:137–215, 289–413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGue, M. & Bouchard, T. J. Jr. (1998) Genetic and environmental influences on human behavioral differences. Annual Reviews in Neuroscience 21:1–24.Google Scholar
Mikolajczak, M. & Desseilles, M., ed. (2012) Handbook on emotion regulation. De Boeck Supérieur.Google Scholar
Zelinka, V., Cojan, Y. & Desseilles, M. (2014) Hypnosis, attachment and oxytocin: An integrative perspective. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 62(1):29–49.Google Scholar