Mentalization-Based Treatment for Developmental Trauma: A Casebook for Working with Children and Their Families

Mentalization-Based Treatment for Developmental Trauma offers mental health practitioners a transdiagnostic model to support the needs of traumatized children with both internalizing (emotional) and externalizing (behavioural) difficulties, and shows how MBT can be applied to meet the needs of children who have experienced various types of developmental trauma.

This volume includes contributions from global experts in MBT who share their experience of using the method with traumatized children in a range of settings, from individual therapy to group work and work with parents, carers, and the networks around the child. They highlight the benefits of using MBT with different groups, such as children in foster or residential care or those who are refugees. The chapters offer a framework for clinicians to support children to better process and regulate their emotions, highlighting the importance of early intervention as a means of mitigating certain psychopathologies that commonly result from developmental trauma. With clinical vignettes throughout, this book covers different stages of treatment, such as assessment, direct therapy with the child, work with the network and support for carers and parents.

This book is a vital resource for child counsellors, psychologists, psychoanalysts and therapists who work with children who have experienced developmental trauma, as well as junior psychologists and child psychiatrists, mental health nurses, social workers and others working in child mental health services.

Part I: Introduction and Theoretical Overview

0: Introduction

Nicole Muller, Emma Morris and Nick Midgley

Holland, United Kingdom

1. The impact of developmental trauma on children: a mentalizing perspective

Nicole Muller and Emma Morris

Holland, United Kingdom

Glossary

Part II: The mentalization-based assessment of children who have experienced developmental trauma

2. Drawing the picture: assessment of children as scaffolding for treatment in the context of developmental trauma

Nicole Vliegen and Norka Malberg

Belgium, Spain

3. A mentalization-based approach to the assessment of parents and carers and families

Karin Ensink and Jordan Bate

Canada, United States of America

Part III Mentalization-based treatment with the traumatized child

4. Time-limited Mentalization Based Treatment with young children who have experienced developmental trauma: the case of Isidora

Marcia Olhaberry

Chile

5. Time-limited Mentalization Based Treatment with school-age children who have experienced developmental trauma: the Case of Taro

Momoko Nakanishi and Junko Yagi

Japan

6. Time-limited Mentalization Based Treatment with school-age children who have experienced developmental trauma: The case of Pamir

Sibel Halfon, Hazal Çelik and Dilara Güvenç

Turkey

7. Unraveling traumatic ‘luggage’ and paving the way to Mentalization Based Treatment: the case of Yurko, a forcefully displaced Ukrainian boy and his family

Natasha Dobrova-Krol and Nicole Muller

Ukraine, Holland

8. Mentalization-based group treatment with children who have experienced developmental trauma

Maria Højer Nannestad

Denmark

PART IV Mentalization-based work with parents, carers and the systems around traumatised children

9. A mentalization-based approach to working with traumatized children and parents together: the case of Sara and her parents

Saara Salo

Finland

10. Working with parents who have experienced adverse childhood experiences in Mentalization-Based Treatment: the challenge of blocked care

Masja Juffermans and Hanneke van Aalst

Holland

11. Mentalization-Based Treatment from the perspective of a parent of a traumatised child: an interview with C. Evans

Emma Morris

United Kingdom

12. A mentalizing approach in youth protection services: Working with those who care for traumatized children

Vincent Domon-Archambault and Miguel M. Terradas

Canada

13. The Reflective Fostering Programme: A psychoeducational mentalizing group for foster and kinship carers

Sheila Redfern and Nick Midgley

United Kingdom

14. Concluding remarks: Clinical adaptations of the Mentalization-based treatment model for children in the context of developmental trauma

Emma Morris, Nick Midgley and Nicole Muller

United Kingdom, Holland

Nicole Muller is a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and family therapist at Centrum Hecht Opleidingen in Holland, a specialist centre for training of professionals and treatment centre of children, youth and their families, specialized in attachment and trauma disorders. She is a MBT-CYP practitioner, supervisor and trainer.

Emma Morris is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and MBT-CYP practitioner, supervisor and trainer based in the UK. She is the founder and co-director of the Multi-Family Project and co-director of the Trauma Recovery Space, a specialist trauma clinic. She is co-author of High Conflict Parenting Post Separation: The Making and Breaking of Family Ties (2020) and Systemic Multi-Family Therapy: Concepts and Interventions (2024).

Nick Midgley is a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Professor of Psychological Therapies with Children and Young People at UCL and Anna Freud, London, UK. His books include Therapeutic Work for Children with Complex Trauma: A Three-Track Psychodynamic Approach (2023), Short-term Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Adolescents with Depression: A Treatment Manual (2016), and Minding the Child: Mentalization-Based Interventions with Children, Young People and their Families (2012).

‘I highly recommend this book to clinicians working with children and families affected by developmental trauma. Its practical application of the MBT-C model and its theoretical depth and commitment to inclusivity make it an invaluable resource for practitioners seeking to enhance their clinical practice. Whether you are a seasoned clinician or new to the field, this book offers a wealth of insights and tools to support your work with traumatized children and their families. By engaging with the book's multidimensional approach—spanning assessment, treatment, and systemic interventions—readers will gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of developmental trauma and the transformative potential of mentalization-based treatment. Above all, this book serves as a testament to the power of compassion and understanding in fostering healing and connection in the lives of children and their families.’

Francine Conway, Ph.D., Chancellor, Distinguished Professor, Rutgers University-New Brunswick

‘This outstanding book brings the mentalization-based clinical approach to children and young people fully up to date, significantly broadening its scope and showcasing a vibrant array of interventions. Rich in techniques and practical insights, it offers invaluable guidance for all practitioners working from a developmental perspective—whether with children, adolescents, or adults.’

Professor Peter Fonagy CBE FMedSci FBA FAcSS, Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences