Mentalizing, Attachment, and Epistemic Trust in Group Therapy

ABSTRACT

This article sets out the relevance of recent theoretical developments in the areas of mentalizing, attachment and epistemic trust in relation to group therapy. It begins with an account of the role of mentalizing in the attachment context in the development of epistemic trust—defined as trust in the authenticity and personal relevance of interpersonally transmitted knowledge about how the social environment works. It then explains the particular way in which this emphasis on social communication is pertinent to group therapy and its function as a training ground for mentalizing and the initial experimentation with the opening of epistemic trust in a social context. The article finishes with an account of how mentalization-based group work is undertaken.

FUNDING

Peter Fonagy received funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NF-SI-0514-10157).

Additional information

Funding

Peter Fonagy received funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NF-SI-0514-10157).

Notes on contributors

Peter Fonagy

Peter Fonagy, Chloe Campbell, and Anthony Bateman are affiliated with the Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London, UK, and with the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families in London.

Chloe Campbell

Peter Fonagy, Chloe Campbell, and Anthony Bateman are affiliated with the Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London, UK, and with the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families in London.

Anthony Bateman

Peter Fonagy, Chloe Campbell, and Anthony Bateman are affiliated with the Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London, UK, and with the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families in London.