Mentalization-Based Treatment

Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) is an integrative form of psychotherapy that brings together elements of psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, systemic and ecological approaches. It was developed by Peter Fonagy and Anthony Bateman primarily for people with borderline personality disorder, and centers on mentalization, the capacity to interpret one's own actions and the actions of others as meaningful on the basis of underlying mental states, sometimes summarized as seeing others from the inside and oneself from the outside. Treatment aims to strengthen a client's capacity for mentalization, which practitioners hold supports emotional regulation, reduces self-harm and suicidal behavior, and improves relationships; an adaptation called MBT-ASPD has since been developed for people with antisocial personality disorder, typically delivered in a group setting.