MBT-A

12th June 2015

Mentalization-based treatment for Adolescents

This is a manualized treatment for adolescents with Self Injurious Behaviour that has been subjected to a Randomised Controlled Trial by Dr Trudie Rossouw and Prof Peter Fonagy (see Rossouw, Fonagy (2012) Mentalization-based treatment for self-harm in adolescents: a randomized controlled trial).

It performed very well in this RCT and long term follow up figures are awaited, though it is right to add that it is a relatively small study and was conducted by the program developers, so replications are awaited.

What is it?

  • MBT-A has a separate formal manual not a wiki like this, but the approach is at the heart of the material in this AMBIT manual referred to as:

Individual MentalizationBasedWork.

  • It is an adaptation of the strongly evidence-based approach for adults, MBT (for adults with Borderline Personality Disorder).
    • MBT (for ADULTS) combines:
      • INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS (weekly)
      • with regular GROUP SESSIONS,
    • MBT-A combines:
      • INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS (weekly)
      • Instead of the group work deployed for adults, MBT-A swaps regular (monthly) FAMILY SESSIONS