March 24, 2012

Mentalization and Borderline Personality Disorders

Mentalising is the ability to reflect on our own thoughts and feelings, whilst considering those of others. In the face of overwhelming emotions, our capacity to mentalise is hindered. This can impact greatly on the way we relate to others. Mentalisation Based Treatment works by hleping people find a way of voicing feelings and linking these to thoughts, actions etc. There is also an emphasis placed on attempting to understand others thoughts, feelings and motivations. Whilst this may be the aim of most psychotherapies, there is an acknowledgement that our interventions as thepists may either facilitate or hinder this process. The monitoring of this through the treatment is important. Group therapy provides an opportunity to gain capacity to mentalise through constant attempts to understand misunderstandings, emotions, actions and thoughts.

Sarah Bishop is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Psychotherapy. She has a nursing background and has been working in the NHS for many years. In 2004 she qualified as a group analyst and has been working in a Mental Health NHS Trust psychotherapy service for the past 8 years. She is also trained in Mentalisation Based Treatment (MBT), which is at treatment mode specifically designed for working with people with borderline personality disorder. With colleagues, she has recently set up and is currently running a MBT programme for service users in Bristol.