Capturing Parental Mentalization: A Thematic Analysis of Expert Perspectives in Elements Required for Valid Measures

ABSTRACT

Parental Mentalization (PM) refers to parents’ capacity to understand internal experiences of their children. It is linked with the development of children, as deficiencies in PM can lead to adverse life outcomes. PM measures assess the quality of parental mentalizing capacities, which may then inform intervention and research. However, current measures are limited by complexity of use and sensitivity to assessing the multiple features of mentalizing. Hence, understanding the essential elements required in PM measures is needed to capture PM in ways which are ecologically valid while also being practical to administer in routine practice. This current study aimed to provide a qualitative understanding of how PM may be best captured. Specifically, it aimed to identify essential elements necessary in the development of accurate PM measures for use in clinical and research settings. The study reports data from semi-structured interviews with five leading experts in PM. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three themes were identified: “Capturing the breadth and depth of multiple dimensions,” “Capturing natural interactions between parent and child,” and “Parent profiling.” This study highlights the essential elements which should be considered when choosing or developing PM measures. Clinical implications and further research for measure development are discussed.

Acknowledgments

We thank Professor Arietta Slade (Yale Child Study Centre) and all participants for providing their expertise and insight in the field of parental mentalizing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Abigail R. M. Law

Abigail R. M. Law is a recent graduate from University College London and the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families. She is currently working as a research assistant at the University of Hong Kong within the Community Child Health Department (Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine) in the Faculty of Medicine. Her research interests include the impact of parent-child interactions on children and adolescent’s psychosocial wellbeing, and the influence of socioeconomic status toward development within Hong Kong and East-Asian contexts.

Lisa Thackeray

Lisa Thackeray is a post-graduate research tutor at the Anna Freud Centre. She supervises research projects for three University College London postgraduate programmes: the MSc in Developmental Psychology and Clinical Practice, the MSC in Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology and the PsychD in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. She is also the module lead for the Qualitative Research Methods teaching for the MSc programs and has a particular interest in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

Emma Morris

Emma Morris, BSc (Hons), D.ClinPsy, qualified from University College London in 2004. She currently holds the position of Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families where she is Lead Practitioner for Contact and Residence work. Prior to this worked for 10 years at the Marlborough Family Service, which is a CAMHS based in Westminster. Her experience and training spans adult mental health, child and adolescent mental health and Learning Difficulties. She has a special interest in Multi-Family Therapy and attachment based group work with parents and infants.

Dr Morris regularly provides teaching and consultation in professional settings including Social Care and Education. She holds a teaching position at UCL/Anna Freud and teaches on the Clinical Psychology Doctorate course at several universities. She is a trained supervisor as part of the national Children and Young Peoples Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP-IAPT) programme, which includes the supervision of professionals conducting Evidence Based parenting programmes and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. She is a member of the Outcomes and Evaluation advisory group to the Department of Health, which advises on measuring outcomes in child mental health and has published research in peer reviewed journals.

Michelle Sleed

Michelle Sleed is a senior research fellow and research tutor at the Anna Freud Centre. She is also the research tutor for two University College London postgraduate programmes: the MSc in Developmental Psychology and Clinical Practice and the PsychD in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. She runs several training courses relating to early years research and parenting assessments, including the training in Reflective Functioning on the Parent Development Interview.

Her research is mainly in the area of early parent-infant attachment and infant development, with a specific focus on parental representations and mentalization.