ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the concept of mentalization and the way in which this ability comes into being. It attempts to clarify the theoretical concepts and developmental phases that play a role in this form of treatment. Peter Fonagy, G. Gergely, and colleagues–building on the work of others–have formulated a theoretical model that states that in normal development an infant goes through five levels of "agency of self" of increasing complexity: physical, social, teleological, intentional, and representational. Gergely and G. Csibra presume that an infant is in the teleological position starting from the second half of the first year. When the parent gives back a perceived and sufficiently marked experience, it leads to secondary representation in the infant. If the parent's thinking has also not become sufficiently integrated, it is conceivable that the child experiences too much anxiety with respect to many thoughts to be able to experiment with them in pretend mode.
