An in-person, fee-based training offering a practical introduction to Mentalization-Based Treatment for Adolescents (MBT-A) will be hosted by Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) this June. MBT-A is a clinical approach for working with adolescents with a range of mental health needs. These needs include interpersonal difficulties, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, and self-harm.
Announcement
June Training for Child and Family Mental Health Professionals Hosted at Yale
Register by May 20, 2026
Training details
Certified by the Anna Freud Centre, the training is designed for professionals in child and family mental health. Participants hold qualifications in fields such as child psychotherapy, psychology, arts therapies, family therapy, counseling, psychiatry, mental health nursing, or social work. The training is intended for individuals with a university degree in a mental health profession and prior therapeutic experience with adolescents and families.
The focus of the training is on applying core MBT-A concepts and techniques in clinical settings. In addition to learning how to implement the model, participants explore the complexities of working with adolescents and the role of mentalizing in relationships. They also learn strategies to support self-esteem, affect regulation, and impulse control.
The three-day training will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, through Saturday, June 6, 2026, at two YCSC locations in New Haven, Conn. The fee for the training is $1,200 for all three days. Registration is required for participation. Enrollment is limited to 40 participants, and it is anticipated that continuing education credit will be available.
Trainer bios
Malberg is a psychoanalyst who works with children, adolescents, and adults. She holds a voluntary appointment at YCSC as an assistant clinical professor and serves as a clinical tutor at the Anna Freud Centre. Accredited by the Anna Freud Centre as a trainer and supervisor in MBT across models for children, adolescents, and families, Malberg is also the director of the IMAGINA Center for the Application of Mentalization in Barcelona, Spain. She co-authored the MBT model for children and is the author of Working with Parents in Therapy: A Mentalization-Based Approach (American Psychological Association).
Dangerfield is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, and psychoanalyst, and director of the Vidal i Barraquer University Institute of Mental Health at Ramon Llull University (Barcelona). He is a certified trainer in MBT-A, a supervisor in the family model (MBT-F), and a certified supervisor and trainer in the AMBIT model for work with highly complex adolescents and young adults. Dangerfield has focused much of his career on high-risk adolescents and helped drive the ECID project in Barcelona, an adaptation of AMBIT designed for adolescents at high psychopathological risk and high risk of social exclusion. ECID (Equipo Clínico de Intervención a Domicilio) is an intensive, in-home, mentalization-based treatment program serving extremely high-risk and non-help-seeking adolescents.
Certification pathway
Completing this training is the first of three steps required for MBT-A certification through the Anna Freud Centre. Eligible practitioners must also complete supervision of clinical cases with MBT-A accredited supervisors and pass a final skill evaluation. Visit the Anna Freud Centre website for more information and a list of MBT-A accredited supervisors.
Article outro
Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) faculty, staff, and trainees are dedicated to the center’s three-fold mission, to 1) improve the mental health of children and families; 2) advance the understanding of children’s psychological and developmental needs; and 3) treat and prevent childhood mental illness through the integration of research, clinical practice, and professional training. YCSC educational efforts include clinical and research training in child psychiatry, social work, and child psychology, as well as specific intervention and prevention approaches, training and consultation with school personnel, and special areas of child and family mental health.