http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27222043

The simplest interventions can oftentimes be the most useful ones. Mentalization-based treatment is one of the simplest therapeutic approaches currently available in many ways as it uncomplicatedly addresses the innate human capacity to apprehend mind. Holding mind in mind is as ancient as human relatedness and self-awareness and is said to be what separates us from other living beings such as animals.

Mentalizing is described as a form of imaginative mental activity about others or oneself, perceiving and interpreting human behaviour in terms of intentional mental states (e.g. needs, desires, feelings, beliefs, goals, purposes, and reasons). Thus, in mentalization we implicitly and explicitly interpret the actions of ourselves and others as meaningful on the basis of intentional mental states.

In this linked article, the authors pleasingly lay aside the medical model in favour of an exploration of approaches towards symptoms beyond the so-termed ‘mind-body divide’. Drawing on McWhinney and Dewey’s concept of the body-mind, the authors delve into 'bodily empathy'. Within this, the process of understanding patients necessitates intersubjectivity which aims to understand the patient's experiences and sensations without jumping to diagnostic conclusions or dividing experiences into mental and physical phenomena. It really is a great read on this vitally important yet frequently neglected topic in the medical world.