Keynote 4

Those who live quietly live well, says a well-known Danish proverb. We know from research and clinical practice that this Nordic saying doesn't always hold true. Mentalization theory predicts that those who live quietly are at greater risk of vanishing from the consciousness of others and thus not being seen in their subjectivity. Mentalizing the quiet and the evasive is challenging and can quickly turn into pseudo-mentalization and pretend mode. Can we use the concepts of epistemic trust and modes to say something decisively new, or is it a blind alley? In this talk I will show how research and insights from mentalization and attachment theory can help the clinician to understand the avoidant gestalt. I will also outline a number of issues in working with the anxious personality, highlighting the clinical dilemmas. We need those who suffer in silence to become more vocal so that they can be heard and live a little more.