ABSTRACT
Secure attachment ensures that a young child can develop a psychological self. Both developmental psychology and attachment theory are important to the study of mentalization. In group therapy clients often learn to understand their own state of mind better from the reactions of the other group members. The client is asked to make something that shows what is going on inside, about which great emotion is felt. By paying close attention to the two art works and listening to the intentions of both Carla and Ben, the various emotions that are in play can be prevented from mounting so high that they can no longer think about. Externalisation is expressed in behaviour that is coercive, controlling, or overprotective. In arts therapy, such externalisations can be safely expressed using the medium. The false self can be regarded as a child's internal defence mechanism. The alien self is a part of self that comes from outside the child.
