Online IOP for College Students and Emerging Adults in MA & VT
A virtual conference presented by the Erikson Institute of the Austen Riggs Center, Yale Child Study Center, and the Anna Freud Centre
Mentalization—the capacity to understand one’s own and others’ behavior in terms of underlying thoughts, feelings, and intentions—is fundamental to emotional well-being, learning, and effective interpersonal functioning. Yet, how mentalization develops and operates can vary widely across age, culture, and context. Designed for mental health professionals and educators, this collaborative conference offers an opportunity to deepen understanding of the mentalizing process and its implications for treatment, research, and wider applications.
Part 2 of 2
Presentation: "Mentalizing In and Out of the Session: A Socio-ecological Approach to Supporting Mentalizing in Adolescence"
Presenter: Holly Dwyer Hall, PsyD
Description: Dr. Dwyer Hall presents adolescence as a key period of social transition, involving rapid changes in identity, autonomy, and peer relationships with key social cognitive processes remaining under development. Young people must navigate belonging, rejection, and repair relationships whilst creating a coherent sense of self through experiences of being understood and valued. Contemporary social contexts, including the 'social thinning' of the foundations of adolescence in a digital world, further shape how adolescents connect with others, placing increased importance on mentalizing and related social cognitive skills. This presentation introduces a mentalization-based understanding of adolescent development and mental health, and highlights a shift toward a broader socio-ecological approach within Mentalization Based Treatments. Clinical case material shows how interventions can extend beyond individual work to strengthen epistemic trust, support pro-social engagement, and help adolescents access and maintain everyday social support. The presentation emphasises the need for creative and collaborative ways of working that adapt therapy to the realities of adolescents’ everyday social lives.
Presenter: Holly Dwyer Hall, PsyD
Description: Dr. Dwyer Hall presents adolescence as a key period of social transition, involving rapid changes in identity, autonomy, and peer relationships with key social cognitive processes remaining under development. Young people must navigate belonging, rejection, and repair relationships whilst creating a coherent sense of self through experiences of being understood and valued. Contemporary social contexts, including the 'social thinning' of the foundations of adolescence in a digital world, further shape how adolescents connect with others, placing increased importance on mentalizing and related social cognitive skills. This presentation introduces a mentalization-based understanding of adolescent development and mental health, and highlights a shift toward a broader socio-ecological approach within Mentalization Based Treatments. Clinical case material shows how interventions can extend beyond individual work to strengthen epistemic trust, support pro-social engagement, and help adolescents access and maintain everyday social support. The presentation emphasises the need for creative and collaborative ways of working that adapt therapy to the realities of adolescents’ everyday social lives.
Presentation: "Mentalizing in Systems of Care"
Presenter: Daniel Knuass, PsyD
Description: This presentation will broaden the focus of mentalization based interventions to consider mentalizing in systems of care, defined in the broadest sense as social systems involved in promoting the health, well-being, and development of children and young adults. Of particular concern will be the role of epistemic trust in systems of care and its role in promoting the development of robust mentalizing. Case examples will be provided to highlight the various dilemmas encountered in such systems and potential interventions to restore mentalizing.
Presenter: Daniel Knuass, PsyD
Description: This presentation will broaden the focus of mentalization based interventions to consider mentalizing in systems of care, defined in the broadest sense as social systems involved in promoting the health, well-being, and development of children and young adults. Of particular concern will be the role of epistemic trust in systems of care and its role in promoting the development of robust mentalizing. Case examples will be provided to highlight the various dilemmas encountered in such systems and potential interventions to restore mentalizing.