The Power of Mentalizing

… translates complex psychological understanding of human interaction into a comprehensible everyday narrative. Readers will be able to relate to the only too human examples of effective and ineffective mentalizing, and thereby use them to reflect on their own mentalizing and how they function in everyday relationships. * From the foreword by Anthony Bateman *

Joost Hutsebaut is a clinical psychologist, working as a therapist and researcher in a specialized center for personality disorders (PDs). He holds a chair on ‘Prevention and early intervention of personality pathology’ at the Tilburg university, works with young people with borderline PD, and conducts research on the Alternative Model for PDs. Hutsebaut is also related to the Center of Expertise on PDs and co-authored the Guideline-Informed Treatment for Personality Disorders, a project to improve management of PDs. He published research papers on young people with PD, assessment of level of personality functioning, and generic treatment for PDs.

Liesbet Nijssens is a clinical psychologist and licensed psychodynamic psychotherapist in Belgium. She has experience in individual and group MBT, and has been working in day hospital and intensive outpatient MBT programs for patients with borderline personality disorders at de Viersprong, a specialized treatment institute for personality disorders in the Netherlands. Currently, she is engaged in MBT-P, an adaptation of MBT for parents with personality disorders and their infants. She is also involved in research on parental reflective functioning at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. Nijssens is certified by the AFNCCF as an international MBT practitioner, supervisor, and trainer. She works for MBT the Netherlands and MBT Belgium, where she provides training and supervision in MBT, and supports treatment teams who are setting up MBT programs.

Miriam van Vessem is a clinical psychologist. She has experience in individual and group MBT, in both day hospital and outpatient MBT programs in the Netherlands. She is also involved in the development of an AMBIT program at her current workplace. She provides training and supervision in MBT.