Topic: Anger, Divorce, Grief & Loss
Target Population: Families
Sector: Community-Based
This program is for families with children who are 18 years old or younger.
Mentalization Based Treatment for Families (MBT-F), an adaptation of Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT), is a community-based program that is designed to help family members recognize and understand their own and other family members' emotions and consider how to solve problems together and improve family cohesion.
No peer-reviewed evaluation studies were identified through a public search.
This program centers on enhancing family member relationships and, consequently, family functioning. Individuals are supported and are encouraged to consider why other family members behave in certain ways, recognize other member's feelings, and understand the connections between feelings and actions. Generally, families use MBT-F when they have a variety of concerns, such as the following:
Therapists meet with a family in a calm and non-judgemental setting in which each family member is encouraged to understand his or her emotions, consider others' perspectives, and work together to solve problems. Participants receive an array of treatments, depending on the specific issues each family is experiencing, from a variety of mental health professionals who include psychiatrists, child and adolescent psychotherapists, clinical psychologists, and family therapists.
At this time, MBT-F has only been implemented in the United Kingdom (U.K.). There is no information publicly available that indicates how extensively the program has been implemented.
Experienced mental health professionals facilitate this program. There are three levels of MBT-F qualification: Basic, Practitioner, or Supervisor. To reach the Basic level requires 4 days of off-site training. After completion of this training, professionals can further train and practice the program on- or off-site under the supervision of qualified trainers or experienced MBT-F Supervisors. For more information on training, costs, or to schedule training, please contact the developers using the details in the Contact section.
Considerations for implementing MBT-F include recruiting and receiving buy-in from participants, finding mental health practitioners who are willing to undergo training and implement the program, obtaining suitable space to conduct sessions, recognizing some topics could be of a sensitive nature, and understanding this program has currently only been used in the U.K.; however, implementation seems easily feasible in other countries.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing MBT-F, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
MBT-F consists of 6-12 sessions, which are conducted every other week.
No information regarding implementation costs was located. Please contact the developer using the details in the Contact section.
To move the MBT-F program to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least six months from program completion.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact the Anna Freud Centre by mail The Kantor Centre of Excellence, 4-8 Rodney Street, London N1 9JH, phone +44 (0)20 7794 2313, email info@annafreud.org, or visit https://www.annafreud.org/contact-us/
