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Chapter 13 - Working with Children

from Part IV - Application of Mentalization-Based Treatment in Different Populations and in Different Settings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2023

Anthony Bateman ,
Peter Fonagy ,
Chloe Campbell ,
Patrick Luyten  and
Martin Debbané
Anthony Bateman
Affiliation:
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London
Peter Fonagy
Affiliation:
University College London
Chloe Campbell
Affiliation:
University College London
Patrick Luyten
Affiliation:
University College London
Martin Debbané
Affiliation:
University College London
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Summary

MBT-Children (MBT-C) targets the mentalizing of children and their families. A range of techniques that are tailored to the child’s mentalizing capacity are discussed in this chapter. MBT-C involves working not only with the child but also with the parents, to support their capacity to adopt a mentalizing stance toward their child. The mentalizing approach seeks to help parents to view their child as a separate person with their own mind and experiences, and to enable the parents to become more open to thinking about the mental states that might drive their child’s behavior. MBT-C is a play-centered approach. The chapter includes clinical examples that demonstrate how the intervention needs to be tailored to the child’s age and mentalizing abilities.

Keywords

calendarchild developmentcontingentmarkingmentalizing stanceMBT-CMBT-Childrenmirroringplay
Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Guide to Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) , pp. 319 - 327
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

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