DeepSummary
The episode features an interview with Dr. Howard Steele, a professor of psychology and an expert on attachment theory and reflective functioning. Dr. Steele explains reflective functioning as the ability to understand and interpret one's own and others' mental states, motivations, and behaviors. He discusses how reflective functioning is measured through the Adult Attachment Interview and scored on a scale from -1 to 9.
Dr. Steele highlights the importance of reflective functioning in developing secure attachments, especially in the face of adversity or childhood deprivation. He describes how higher levels of reflective functioning in parents are associated with securely attached children, while lower levels are linked to insecure attachments and various psychopathologies.
Throughout the interview, Dr. Steele provides insights into the significance of reflective functioning in psychotherapy, literature, and human relationships. He explains the different indicators and domains of reflective functioning, and discusses potential areas for future research in understanding the distinctive reflective functioning difficulties of specific patient groups.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Reflective functioning is the ability to understand and interpret one's own and others' mental states, motivations, and behaviors, and is measured through the Adult Attachment Interview on a scale from -1 to 9.
- Higher levels of reflective functioning in parents are associated with securely attached children, while lower levels are linked to insecure attachments and various psychopathologies.
- Reflective functioning is crucial in developing secure attachments, particularly in the face of adversity or childhood deprivation.
- Reflective functioning plays a significant role in psychotherapy, literature, and human relationships, fostering empathy, understanding, and resilience.
- The use of clinical labels or generalizations can be indicative of lower levels of reflective functioning, as opposed to providing a more nuanced and personal understanding of experiences.
- Different patient groups may exhibit distinctive reflective functioning difficulties, suggesting potential areas for future research.
- Reflective functioning can fluctuate throughout the day and is influenced by factors such as fatigue, hunger, and stress.
- Developing reflective functioning is an ongoing process that requires nurturing through conversations, self-reflection, and therapeutic interventions.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “If they had high levels of deprivation and had acquired and shown reflective functioning in their interview, 100% of the infants were securely attached.“ by Howard Steele
- “Reflective functioning is the task of thinking about why people in our lives behave the way they do, what motivates them, what motivates us, and how can I think about ways of connecting with other people and showing some understanding and the empathy toward them?“ by Howard Steele
- “If we can arrive at some valuing of the present based on a reworking of the past, that's not a bad place to be.“ by Howard Steele
- “When people use clinical terms like that, my mother was a narcissist, my father was a chronic depressive, we do not consider it reflective functioning. We consider it a bit of a cop out, drawing on some label that's widely used in the psychiatric or clinical, psychological and social work literature.“ by Howard Steele
- “Reflective functioning is a path out of loss, out of trauma is a powerful proxy for what we call resilience.“ by Howard Steele
Entities
Person
Book
Episode Information
Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast
David Puder, M.D.
5/17/24
In this episode, we discuss “reflective function,” which is a precursor to the concept of mentalization. Reflective function is best understood not as synonymous with mentalization, but as a scale from -1 to 9, based off certain adult attachment interview questions that measure the person’s ability to describe their own and others’ internal states, motivations, and articulate a nuanced and unique understanding of life from 0 to 12 years old. This scale was developed by attachment researchers at the University of London, including Dr. Howard Steele and Dr. Peter Fonagy.