mentales

Mentales is an adjective used in Spanish and other Romance languages to describe anything related to the mind or to mental processes. In professional and lay contexts it appears in phrases such as salud mental (mental health), capacidad mental (mental capacity), and estado mental (mental state). The term is applied in psychology, psychiatry, education, and everyday discussion to distinguish mental phenomena from physical or somatic aspects.

Etymology: Mentales derives from Latin mentalis, related to mens, mentis (mind). Its formation follows the common Romance pattern of -alis adjectives indicating a relation to a root noun. In many languages the word has cognates such as mental in English and mentalis in Latin.

Scope: The concept covers mental processes (pensamiento, memoria, percepción, atención, lenguaje), mental states (emociones, actitudes, beliefs) and mental disorders (trastornos mentales). In research, the term often appears in discussions of cognitive functions, emotional regulation, and neuropsychological assessment. Clinically, it intersects with health, disabilities, and quality of life.

Context and usage: In law and administration, mental capacity (capacidad mental) or competence is used to assess decision-making ability. In education and clinical practice, assessments of mental status are common tools for diagnosing conditions or planning interventions. The distinction between mental and physical factors remains a central theme in biopsychosocial models of health.

Related topics include mental health, cognition, psychology, psychiatry, and theory of mind.