Abstract
In their 2004 article, J. R. Allen, Bennett, and Kearns invited us to carry on their exploration of “thinking psychologically.” In this article, the author does so by offering further reflections about mentalization, a quality that psychotherapists seek to develop in most of their patients. The article explores meanings of this term, sums up current hypotheses about the way it develops, and draws parallels with some transactional analysis concepts. Material from the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus (1942/1988) is used to illustrate the impact of impaired mentalizing.