Norka Malberg

Transform the way children understand themselves and others. Mentalization—the ability to make sense of one’s own mind and the minds of others—is fundamental to developing emotional resilience, self-regulation, and successful relationships. Now in its second edition, this book presents mentalization-based treatment for children (MBT-C), a transdiagnostic, time-limited therapeutic approach designed to help children and their parents navigate emotional and behavioral difficulties, from anxiety and depression to interpersonal struggles. MBT-C blends psychodynamic principles, attachment theory, and empirical research on mentalization to provide practical, evidence-based strategies for clinicians. Written by an international team of pioneering clinician-researchers, this fully updated second edition guides practitioners through the entire process of MBT-C, from assessment and case formulation to therapy termination. This edition contains a promising new assessment tool, new theory and research on the interrelated aspects of trauma and culture, and groundbreaking findings from the first clinical trial of time-limited MBT-C for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Childhood has long been recognized as a developmental process. This book examines parenting through a similar lens, offering mental health providers a mentalizing framework for working with parents at all stages of parental development. Parenting is a developmental process that fluctuates and transforms throughout the lifespan. To support working with parents, the authors present a mentalizing approach that considers the current socio-cultural environment and its impact on the developmental process of parenting. This approach integrates a wealth of psychodynamic clinical research, theory, and practice. This book provides the reader with principles to inform evaluation, formulation, and treatment in their work with parents. It provides clinical examples followed by clinical formulations offering illustrations of the application of one approach to diverse clinical challenges in the context of working with parents, grandparents, and other caregivers.

This book is the first comprehensive clinical introduction to using Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) with children, 5- 2 years old, who experience emotional and behavioral problems including anxiety, depression, and relational difficulties. Mentalization--based treatment (MBT) promotes clients amp rsquo ability to interpret the meaning of others amp rsquo behavior by considering their underlying mental states and intentions, as well as clients amp rsquo capacity to understand the impact of their own behaviors on others. Written by an international team of clinician--researchers who are pioneering the MBT model with children, the authors begin by exploring the significance of mentalization and then devote the core chapters to the process of conducting short-term (9-- 2 sessions) MBT for children, including problem assessment and case formulation in terms of mentalizing techniques, the therapist amp rsquo 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.

This volume investigates the role of emotion in the development and maintenance of psychological problems, and in effecting psychological change. The authors examine emotion as it is conceptualized and used in three of the most widely practiced approaches today--psychodynamic, cognitive behavior, and emotion-focused psychotherapy. In each chapter, the authors discuss the impact of emotion on child development and learning, the relationship between emotion and motivation, and the ways in which emotion can be harnessed in treatment to improve psychological functioning and strengthen interpersonal relationships. Clinical vignettes show readers how to arouse, identify, and channel emotions in therapy, while also utilizing emotion to develop and maintain an effective therapeutic alliance.

This book is the first comprehensive clinical introduction to using Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) with children, 5-12 years old, who experience emotional and behavioral problems including anxiety, depression, and relational difficulties. Mentalization--based treatment (MBT) promotes clients’ ability to interpret the meaning of others’ behavior by considering their underlying mental states and intentions, as well as clients’ capacity to understand the impact of their own behaviors on others. Written by an international team of clinician--researchers who are pioneering the MBT model with children, the authors begin by exploring the significance of mentalization and then devote the core chapters to 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.