Mentalization Across Developmental Contexts: Applications in Childhood, Adolescence, and Family Systems

Adolescent mental health care is a changing field at the intersection of clinical innovation and developmental science. Increasing attention has been given to mentalization – the capacity to understand oneself and others in terms of intentional mental states – as a key mechanism underpinning psychological and psychosocial development and therapeutic change. Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) was originally developed for adults, for people with BPD in particular, but has increasingly been adapted for children, adolescents, and families. These adaptations reflect the need for developmentally sensitive, relational, and contextually grounded interventions that account for the complexity of caregiving environments, attachment relationships, and broader social contexts. However, important questions remain regarding how mentalization develops across childhood and adolescence, how it is best supported in clinical practice, how it presents across different clinical populations, how it can represent a new and useful frame of work in public mental health Service, and how MBT-informed approaches can be effectively implemented across diverse cultural frameworks. This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of mechanisms of change in child, adolescent, and family psychotherapy, with a central focus on mentalization and its interplay with attachment, affect regulation, and relational dynamics. The topic particularly welcomes contributions that examine how mentalizing processes are fostered, disrupted, and restored in different settings. This collection hopes to bring together contributions grounded in mentalization-based theory, in the care of children, adolescents, families, and various social contexts. Comparative and interdisciplinary contributions are welcome, highlighting the diverse cultural and systemic environments, where contextual and resource-related challenges may impact implementation and outcomes.While the primary emphasis is on mentalization and MBT, the collection welcomes submissions that explore the following themes:• Development and assessment of mentalization in childhood and adolescence• Mentalization Based Treatment and its applications in childhood and adolescence, including family and systemic therapies• Explorations on the impact of diagnosis on a child, adolescent and family, and processing this from a mentalization approach• Mechanisms of change in psychotherapy, including studies focused on mentalization or metacognition • Innovations in theoretical and clinical approaches in mentalization-based child and adolescent treatment,• Comparative analyses between MBT and other psychotherapeutic approaches• Influence and role of caregivers and family members in attachment and relationship development as part of psychological wellbeing• Clinical research on child-parent therapy sessions and intervention approaches• Tailored and contextual adaptations for family, neurodevelopmental, and cultural variations• Cultural, social, and systemic influences on mentalization and therapeutic outcomes• Implementation and dissemination of mentalization-based practices in diverse service contextsThis Research Topic welcomes original empirical research, clinical trials, reviews, case reports, study protocols, opinions and perspectives. Topic editors: Osmano Oasi, Mie Sedoc Jørgensen Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79576/mentalization-across-developmental-contexts-applications-in-childhood-adolescence-and-family-systems