Mentalization-Based Treatment for Adolescents (MBT-A) Basic Training

This will be an intensive training course in Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT) for Adolescents focusing on understanding and addressing difficulties in self-harm and interpersonal relating and supporting the development of an adolescent’s resilience to further psychopathology through enhancing mentalizing, social connectedness, and the adolescent’s sense of agency as they work towards adulthood. 

The current MBT Basic Adolescent Training is made up of 3 days of live, instructor-led content (including breaks) and 8 hours of self-guided online content - attendees will be required to complete the self-guided online content prior attending the live event (CME credit is not granted for the self-guided online content).  The self-guided online content provides video and audio presentations, selected reading, and further written tasks to develop participants' basic theoretical knowledge and understanding of mentalizing and Mentalization Based Treatment models with adolescents and families.

Mentalizing refers to our ability to attend to and understand our own actions and those of others on the basis of mental states. MBT for Adolescents focuses on enhancing and stabilizing mentalizing in the adolescent and their family or care network as a central aim to reduce symptoms and facilitate adaptation, resilience, and growth. Initially developed by Drs. Anthony Bateman and Peter Fonagy for the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in adults, MBT has now been implemented in a wide range of disorders and patient populations. MBT for Adolescents was adapted for work with young people and their families by Drs. Trudie Rossouw and Peter Fonagy and in keeping with MBT Adult was developed based on studies of early childhood development and attachment. In this course, participants will learn how to implement MBT techniques within their clinical practice with adolescents and families and as a specialist treatment for both inpatient and outpatient community settings.

Typical clinical situations are discussed and ‘role played’ to practice skills with further experiential activities employed to support participants' skills in thinking and working developmentally, using play, art, and creative techniques to support the adolescent’s engagement in therapy and develop further skills in attention control, affect regulation, and explicit mentalizing.

MBT requires therapists to focus on the adolescent’s mental state and their understanding of interactions with the patient. The therapist takes a ‘not knowing’ stance and yet explicitly develops with the adolescent or family alternative perspectives about what is happening. Clinicians will learn how to foster a shared representation of the adolescent’s experience and modify it to appreiciate others’ perspectives using MBT techniques. Participants will learn how to use their own experiences of the patient as a way of increasing mentalizing within therapeutic encounters. The course considers therapist techniques, such as empathic validation, clarification, affect elaboration, challenge, and basic mentalizing in the context of some of the common clinical scenarios encountered in treatment with adolescents.  Participants will learn about mentalizing strengths and difficulties related to the developmental phase of adolescence and how to use them.

Offered by the Gunderson Personality Disorders Institute.

Course Agenda

Agenda for this course can be found here.

Monday, July 22, 2024, 9:00 AM - Wednesday, July 24, 2024, 4:40 PM EST, Mass General Brigham at Assembly Row, 399 Revolution Drive, Somerville, MA

1. Describe the mentalizing strengths and needs of adolescents with particular focus on adolescents with emerging BPD and/ or self harming behaviours and interpersonal distress
2. Recognize effective mentalizing and pre- non-mentalizing in adolescents and in clinical interventions
3. Develop and maintain a mentalizing therapeutic stance with adolescents and parents
4. Use basic mentalizing techniques in their everyday clinical work with adolescents and parents
5. Describe how to deliver effective psychoeduction groups for parents and adolescents
6. Use the Thinking Together Model for peer and self supervision to regain and maintain therapist mentalizing in the face of predicable clinical difficulties

Registration for this course has closed.

Course Fees

$1350.00 all registrants

Need Help?

Please contact the Gunderson Personality Disorders Institute at McLean Hospital with any questions or concerns.

Refund Policy

Due to the small nature of our trainings, the Gunderson Personality Disorders Institute cannot offer any refunds.  If the participant is unable to attend, they may send a substitute trainee.

Physicians
McLean Hospital is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. McLean Hospital designates this educational activity for a maximum of 16.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Psychologists
McLean Hospital is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. McLean Hospital maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Participants meeting requirements will receive 16.50 CE credits.

Nurses
This program meets the requirements of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing (244 CMR 5.00) for 16.50 contact hours of nursing continuing education credit. Advance practice nurses, please note: educational activities which meet the requirements of the ACCME (such as this activity) count toward 50% of the nursing requirement for ANCC accreditation.

Social Workers
For information about continuing education credit for social workers, please call 617.855.3487.

Licensed Mental Health Counselors
McLean Hospital has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6085. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. McLean Hospital is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. This offering meets the requirements for up to 16.50 NBCC hours.

Mitigation of Relevant Financial Relationships

McLean Hospital adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity, including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.