Mentalization-Based Treatment for Children: A Time-Limited Approach

This is the first comprehensive clinical introduction to using a time-limited mentalizing approach for working with children, ages 5 to 12, who experience emotional and behavioral problems, including anxiety, depression, and relational difficulties. Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) promotes a child's ability to make sense of their own mind, and the minds of others around them. The authors, an international team of clinician-researchers who are pioneering the MBT model with children, explore the significance of mentalization and describe in detail the process of conducting short-term (9-12 sessions) MBT for children, including problem assessment and case formulation in terms of mentalizing techniques, the therapist's stance, and treatment termination. The approach draws on traditional psychodynamic principles but integrates them with findings from attachment theory, the empirical study of mentalization, and features of other evidence-based approaches. This book includes a chapter-length case illustration and an appendix that lists measures of reflective functioning in children and their parents as well as validation articles.