Abstract - This methodological study aims to identify and validate indicators of the psychotherapist’s reflective awareness. The linguistic indicators were developed based on existing analysis grids (the countertransference analysis grid, the verbal elaboration of affect grid, and the experiencing scale) and using a linguistic-pragmatic model of mental states in discourse. An empirical study involving 1,762 utterances scored using the three grids and the linguistic indicators confirmed the validity of these indicators. As expected, utterances scored as reflexive by the grids are characterized by the presence of linguistic indicators. This linguistic analysis method based on linguistic indicators is therefore conclusive. It is presented as an alternative to standard content analysis grids. It enhances the metrological qualities of language-based instruments by improving, in particular, the reliability of the scoring. [author’s abstract]