Mentalization Based Therapy - State of the Art

The evidence for mentalization-based treatments is limited but encouraging.  It arises from three sources, (1) accumulating evidence for the model of etiology for BPD rooted in constructs from developmental psychopathology highlighting the way genetic vulnerability may interact with attachment experiences to create specific cognitive and interpersonal vulnerabilities, (2) evidence for the effectiveness of MBT in day hospital and outpatient treatments, including a comparison with an active ‘placebo’ control condition, and (3) emerging evidence for the value of applying MBT principles to conditions associated with high risk for BPD in infancy and childhood and adolescence using modified implementations of MBT techniques.  We see MBT as providing a coherent set of principles underpinning a range of interventions addressing the disorganization of the self in personality disorder.