Mentalizing Family Violence Part 1: Conceptual Framework

Eia Asen, Peter Fonagy

This is the first of two companion papers describing concepts and techniques of a mentalization-based approach to understanding and managing family violence. We review evidence that attachment difficulties, sudden high levels of arousal, and poor affect control contribute to a loss of mentalizing capacity, which, in turn, undermines social learning and can favor the transgenerational transmission of violent interaction patterns.

Key wordsTransgenerational Trauma

CountriesGlobal

CategoryPublication