Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) is an evidence-based therapy for treating patients with borderline personality disorders. MBT has been adapted for therapeutic work with adolescents and already shows promising evidence of effectiveness in treating self-harming youth diagnosed with borderline disorder.

This concise overview presents the core model of MBT-A for the first time in the German-speaking region. The authors first explain the theory of mentalization and then apply it to the specific conditions of adolescence.

The practical section introduces mentalization diagnostics as well as the attitudes and interventions of MBT-A. This approach differs from adult therapy through a more active stance and the integration of a family therapy component.