Eating Disorders and Mentalization

High Reflective Functioning in Patients with Bulimia Nervosa

Dados Bibliográficos

ID8335706
AutoresSigne Holm Pedersen (0000-0003-2518-2966, Department of Social Sciences), Stig Poulsen (0000-0002-0536-1820, Department of Social Sciences), Susanne Lunn (0000-0002-6812-1867, Department of Social Sciences)
Ano2015
Volume63
Fascículo4
Páginas671-694
Data de publicação2015-08-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of the American Psychoanalytic Association (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0003-0651 • E-ISSN: 1941-2460
EditoraSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0003065115602440
PMID26316406
OpenAlexW2178786043
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas18

The theory of mentalization has recently been applied in the area of eating disorders (Skårderud 2012). This article reports a qualitative study based on interviews with five women suffering from bulimia nervosa. All five scored high on the Reflective Functioning Scale, indicating a highly developed ability to mentalize. The present qualitative study, which focuses on the women’s capacity to relate to and regulate affects, supports the finding that they are relatively skilled at reflecting on their own and others’ thoughts and emotions. However, this highly developed capacity for mentalization is apparently not helping them regulate their emotions. This suggests that the capacity to mentalize may not be as closely related to the capacity to regulate affects as Fonagy et al. (2002) have proposed. Indeed, the concept of mentalization may be overinclusive and in need of stricter definition. Thus, it might be envisaged that while the ability to mentalize is closely related to the ability to put feelings into words (the opposite of alexithymia), an ability to mentalize may not necessarily entail a capacity to regulate affects. Finally, the study illustrates that far from all eating-disordered patients have problems mentalizing

Eating disorders · Mentalization · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies · Clinical Psychology · Eating Disorders and Behaviors · Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders · Psychology