Mentalization-Based Treatment for Adolescents (MBT-A).

In this article we describe the structure and technique of mentalization-based therapy for adolescents (MBT-A), an evidence-based intervention that has shown effectiveness in helping young people with self-harm, borderline personality, and depression. We describe also the differences between MBT with adults and MBT-A, which primarily focuses on the developmental aspects of adolescence. The developmental trajectory of adolescence culminates in a coherent and consolidated sense of self.

Introduction to Mentalization-Based Approaches for Parents, Children, Youths, and Families.

Family members mentalize when they try to understand each other's behavior on the basis of intentional mental states. This article aims to introduce and briefly describe how the concept of mentalization can provide a useful framework for clinicians to understand psychopathology of children, youths, and families. The authors further outline how mentalization-based techniques and interventions can be applied to build epistemic trust and to reestablish mentalizing in families by presenting clinical vignettes of initial sessions from various clinical settings in the United Kingdom and Germany.

[Mentalization-Based Treatment for Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder - Concept and Efficacy].

Mentalization-Based Treatment for Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder - Concept and Efficacy In recent years, the concept of mentalization has become increasingly important in practice and research. It describes the imaginative ability to understand human behavior in terms of mental states. Mentalization is a central component to understand the etiology and to treat patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

The use of mentalization-based treatment for adolescents (MBT-A) with a young woman with mixed personality disorder and tendencies to self-harm.

This article explores the psychological profile and treatment of young people who present clinically with features of borderline and avoidant personality disorder, along with vulnerable narcissistic traits. Self-harm in these youngsters is often used to regulate internal storms. It is argued that the adolescent phase of development is a trigger point for collapse in these vulnerable young people.

Mentalization-based treatment for self-harm in adolescents: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: We examined whether mentalization-based treatment for adolescents (MBT-A) is more effective than treatment as usual (TAU) for adolescents who self-harm.

Method: A total of 80 adolescents (85% female) consecutively presenting to mental health services with self-harm and comorbid depression were randomly allocated to either MBT-A or TAU. Adolescents were assessed for self-harm, risk-taking and mood at baseline and at 3-monthly intervals until 12 months.