Service Description

What motivates our behavior? Actions and behaviors are not random events. Why do we repeat the same mistakes again and again, even when we want to stop? What are the needs, wants, thoughts, goals, purposes, feelings, and reasons that drive any of our behaviors? Mentalization is the act of understanding of why a person does what they do. Mentalizing is perceiving and interpreting behavior based upon a person's intentions and inner experiences such as needs, wants, thoughts, goals, purposes, feelings, and reasons. Mentalizing makes meaning out of behavior. Good mentalization is accurate. Poor mentalization encompasses various types of misinterpretations. Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) was developed in England by Anthony Bateman and Peter Fonagy to treat borderline personality disorder. Personality disorders are increasingly viewed as having common impairments in self and interpersonal function in four areas: a sense of self (identity), a sense of agency (capacity for self-direction), the ability to understand the internal experiences of others (cognitive and emotional empathy) and the capacity for closeness and trust (intimacy). These four areas involve mentalization. People with BPD can mentalize effectively, however, it seems to go offline with emotional activation from close interpersonal interactions, self-relevant situations, or increased cognitive complexity of a task. Mentalizing impairments in a person with BPD can result in rigid and distorted interpretations of the words and actions of family members. For families this can be the most frustrating aspect of the relationship. Learning the basics of Mentalization and Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) will give family members a greater understanding of a loved one with a personality disorder, as well as more effective responses to improve their own mentalization as well as their loved ones. MBT was developed for BPD and it is being used to treat other personality disorders, including pathological narcissism, the most severe form of NPD. This 4-week course offers an introduction to Mentalization for family members who are interested in learning more about the Mentalization Stance and some of the therapeutic interventions in MBT used to treat BPD and NPD.