‘Mentalising with complex clinical presentations in children and families: a systemic and trauma-informed approach’ is a webinar that will workshop help clinicians use a mentalizing and systemic approach to assess, formulate, and treat complex trauma in children, young people, and families. Through practical training and a pre-recorded MBT introduction, participants learn to apply trauma-focused mentalization techniques across clinical work and wider support systems.
Led by Dr. Emma Morris, DClinPsy is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, founder of MultiFamilyProject.org and co-director of The Trauma Recovery Space.
Register for the event & pricing
Sign up at this link or on the Book Now buttons, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time.
Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD/CME certificate via email.
- ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD/CME certificate.
- Non-members: this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions.
| Ticket Type | Price |
|---|---|
| ACAMH paying Members (Online, Concession) | EARLY BIRD £99 (until 08/09/26 then £129) (Join now and save) |
| ACAMH Learn Account Holders | EARLY BIRD £129 (until 08/09/26 then £159) |
| Non Members | EARLY BIRD £129 (until 08/09/26 then £159) |
| ACAMH Undergraduate/ Postgraduate Members | £15 |
| LMIC Members | Free |
Who should attend
Mental health professionals.
About the session
This workshop supports clinicians to think and work with complex clinical presentations involving trauma and adversity, using a mentalizing and systemic lens, Including:
- How to develop focused assessments and treatment plans tailored to children, young people and families who have experienced complex trauma
- How to apply trauma focused mentalization based techniques with children, parents, families, and broader support systems
This session is supported by a pre-recorded introduction to MBT concepts, to allow the live session to stay practical and focused.
Learning objectives:
- To understand how mentalizing principles can be used within a systemic frame to develop case formulations for children, young people and families who have experienced complex trauma
- To understand how mentalizing principles can be used within a systemic frame to inform interventions for children, young people and families who have experienced complex trauma
- To understand how mentalizing principles can be used within a systemic frame to support the systems around children and young people impacted by complex trauma
Meet the speaker
Dr. Emma Morris, DClinPsy is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, founder of MultiFamilyProject.org and co-director of The Trauma Recovery Space, a specialist trauma service in the UK. She worked in the National Health Service for 15 years, and the Anna Freud Centre for 10 years, where she was involved with the development and evaluation of Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT) for children and young people and families. She specialises in MBT, interventions for parental conflict and multifamily therapy. She has published articles in peer reviewed journals and co-authored and edited books on these topics.
FAQs on the Topic
1. What is mentalization?
Mentalization is the ability to understand behaviour — your own and other people’s — in terms of the thoughts, feelings, and intentions underneath it. It is what allows us to make sense of why someone acted as they did, or why we feel the way we do. The capacity to mentalize develops through early relationships and underpins emotional regulation, empathy, and stable connections with others.
2. What is mentalization-based treatment for children and families?
Mentalization-based treatment helps children, parents, and families understand behaviour in terms of the thoughts and feelings underneath it — their own and each other’s. It is a transdiagnostic approach, meaning it can support children with both emotional and behavioural difficulties rather than a single diagnosis. The aim is to strengthen the capacity to mentalize, which underpins emotional regulation and stable relationships.
3. How do mentalizing and a systemic approach help with complex trauma in children?
Complex trauma often disrupts a child’s ability to make sense of their own and others’ feelings, which can show up as distress, dysregulation, or difficult behaviour. A systemic, mentalizing approach addresses this across relationships — supporting children, parents, and the wider network to stay curious about what lies behind behaviour, rather than reacting to behaviour alone.
4. How is trauma-informed assessment and formulation carried out with children and families?
Trauma-informed assessment looks beyond presenting symptoms to how a child, family, and network make sense of one another, and where mentalizing tends to break down. A systemic formulation maps these patterns into a shared picture that guides intervention. This helps clinicians develop treatment plans tailored to the child and family rather than to a diagnostic label alone.
5. How are mentalization-based techniques used to treat complex trauma in children?
Trauma-focused mentalizing interventions help children make sense of and regulate overwhelming emotions, often through play, talk, and reflective work matched to the child’s developmental stage. Alongside this, parents and carers are supported to recognise what drives their child’s behaviour and to respond in ways that rebuild safety and trust. The work spans direct therapy with the child and parallel work with the family.
Infographic
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