Academic Resources

Please find a selection of published articles related to the scientific study of parental embodied mentalizing.

1. Verbal and nonverbal parental mentalizing profiles: Distinct profiles of mind-mindedness and embodied parental mentalizing according to infant attachment and parental factors
   Gagné, K. Shai, D., Rein, N., Meins, E., Tarabulsy, G. M., Lemelin, J.-P., Bernier, A., Caron, P.- O., &; Morizot, J. (2025). Verbal and nonverbal parental mentalizing profiles: Distinct profiles of mind-mindedness and embodied parental mentalizing according to infant attachment and parental factors. Infant Behavior and Development, 80, 102113.

   How parents connect with their babies—both through what they say and how they act—plays a big role in a child’s first relationships. In a study of over 400 mothers and babies from Canada, the UK, and Israel, we watched moms playing with their infants aged 6–8 months and then checked the babies’ attachment at 15-16 months. We found four different parenting styles when it came to mentalizing: very low, low, high, and inconsistent. We found that babies whose parents were consistently strong mentalizing in both words and actions were more likely to form secure attachments. In other words, when parents really tuned in—both in what they said and how they responded physically—their babies felt safer and more connected. This study shows that everyday mentalizing ways of talking and interacting with a baby can shape how secure and confident that child feels in their first relationships.

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2. Identifying embodied risk and protective factors in mothers with postpartum depression and comorbidities using Parental Embodied Mentalizing Assessment
   Simon, V., Spencer, R., Zitzmann, S., Shai, D., Vitinius, F., & Ramsauer, B. (2025). Identifying embodied risk and protective factors in mothers with postpartum depression and comorbidities using Parental Embodied Mentalizing Assessment™. Journal of Affective Disorders.

   Many moms with postpartum depression (PPD) also deal with other mental health challenges like anxiety or personality disorders. But how do these issues affect the embodied way a mother connects with her baby—especially through bodily movement during everyday interaction? To find out, researchers watched short videos of 68 moms playing with their babies (3 to 10 months old). They used a specialised tool - Parental Embodied Mentalizing Assessment™(PEMA™) - to see how well moms “tuned in” to their babies through bodily movement, touch, and physical presence. They found that moms with only PPD were often still emotionally present. But when PPD came with anxiety or personality disorders, moms tended to struggle more—with each condition affecting the parent-child bond differently. This research helps us better understand how mental health shapes early parenting and a mother’s embodied communication, so families can get the right kind of support from the start and professionals can provide tailored support to each mother’s need.

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3. I’m with you, baby: Using parental embodied mentalizing in a pilot study to capture change following the circle of security parenting intervention

   Shai, D., Boris, N., Brandtzaeg, I., Torsteinson, S., Spencer, R., Haugaard, K., & Smith-Nielsen, J. (2024). Scandinavian journal of psychology, 65(2), 321–330.
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4. Mother-infant interaction context matters for verbal and non-verbal parental mentalization: an initial portrait of associations between parental embodied mentalizing, mind-mindedness, and maternal characteristics in a structured and unstructured context

   Gagné, K., Lemelin, J., & Tarabulsy, G. (2023). Frontiers in Psychology, 14.
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5. Non-verbal and verbal parental mentalization as predictors of infant attachment security: Contributions of parental embodied mentalizing and mind-mindedness and the mediating role of maternal sensitivity

   Gagné, K., Lemelin, J-P., & Tarabulsy, G. (2021). Infant Behavior and Development, 65, 101622.
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6. Trust me! Parental embodied mentalizing predicts infant cognitive and language development in longitudinal follow-up

   Shai, D., Laor Black, A., Spencer, R., Sleed, M., Bardon, B., Nolte, T., & Fonagy, P. (2022). Frontiers in Psychology, 13.
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7. Parental embodied mentalizing: Associations with maternal depression, anxiety, verbal mentalizing, and maternal styles of interaction

   Ierardi, E., Dascalu, A., Shai, D., Spencer, R., & Crugnola C, R. (2022). Journal of Affective Disorders, 311, 472–478.
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8. The mediating role of parental embodied mentalizing in the longitudinal association between prenatal spousal support and toddler emotion recognition

   Afek, E., Lev-Wiesel, R., Federman, D., & Shai, D (2022). Infancy, 27(3), 609–629. Link to Paper

   
   
   

9. Studying the process of psychoanalytic parent–infant psychotherapy: Embodied and discursive aspects

   Avdi, E., Amiran, K., Baradon, T., Broughton, C., Sleed, M., Spencer, R., & Shai, D. (2020). Infant Mental Health Journal, 41(5), 589–602.
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10. Does Postpartum Depression Affect Parental Embodied Mentalizing in Mothers With 4-Months old Infants?

    Garset-Zamani, S., Cordes, K., Shai, D., Spencer, R., Stuart, A. C., Køppe, S., & Væver, M. S. (2020). Infant Behavior and Development, 61, 101486.
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11. Parental embodied mentalizing and its relation to mind-mindedness, sensitivity, and attachment security

    Shai, D., & Meins, E. (2018). Infancy, 23(6), 857–872.
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12. The Important of Parental Verbal and Embodied Mentalizing in Sharing Parental Experiences of Stress and Coparenting

    Shai, D., Dollberg., D., & Szepsenwol, O. (2017). Infant behavior & development, 49, 87–96.
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13. Parental Embodied Mentalizing: How the Nonverbal Dance Between Parents and Infant Predict Children's Socio-Emotional Functioning

    Shai, D., & Belsky, J. (2017). Attachment & human development, 19(2), 191–219.
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14. Beyond Words: Parental Embodied Mentalizing and the Parent-Infant Dance

    Shai, D., & Fonagy, P. (2014). In M. Mikulincer & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Mechanisms of social connection: From brain to group (pp. 185–203). American Psychological Association.
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15. Infant Massage: Is the Medium the Message?

    Underdown, A., & Shai., D (2014). International Journal of Birth and Parenting Education, 2(1), 27-30.
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16. When Words Just Won't Do: Introducing Parental Embodied Mentalizing

    Shai, D., & Belsky., J (2011). Child Development Perspectives, 5(3), 173–180.
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17. Parental Embodied Mentalizing: Let's Be Explicit About What We Mean by Implicit

    Shai, D., & Belsky. J. (2011). Child Development Perspectives, 5(3), 187–188.
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