Child psychoanalysis

In the past decade the concept of metallization came to be a major contribution to come out of clinical psychoanalysis and seems to affect almost all aspects of clinical work in including grief and mourning. Metallization refers to the child’s capacity to understand what appears to be an objective experience as a personal experience (Seligman, 2007). The child in normal development comes to understand his or her mind apart from other and the child also develops the capacity to appreciate other people have separate minds. Furthermore, the child’s capacity to see itself from the perspective of another and at the same time having the awareness that the other has a separate mind, is a developmental milestone (Seligman, 2007).

A concept that is related to metallization is reflective functioning which is an ability to reflect accurately about one’s thoughts and feelings vis a vis the other. Reflective functioning is important because it helps to make sense of events in the world and also help provide the feelings of safety and security (Seligman, 2007). When the reflective functioning is compromised then the person becomes prone to paranoid projection, idealization and some internal malignancies (Seligman, 2007). Research shows that the capacity for reflective functioning to be crucial for psychological security and the inability to mentalize appears to be at the core of numerous psychological difficulties. Metallization and reflective functioning are psychological insights that emerge in the context of a relationship. The child’s ability to gradually transform from a narcissistic mode of existence to object relations comes as a result of metallization occurring in a secure space.