At Talking Therapies UK, we are passionate about equipping professionals with the knowledge, confidence, and compassion to support mental health across diverse settings. With decades of combined experience in clinical practice, public health leadership, and service transformation, our training programmes are rooted in evidence-based approaches and real-world application.
We specialise in delivering high-impact, trauma-informed mental health training tailored to the needs of health, education, social care, and voluntary sector teams. From safeguarding and suicide prevention to emotional resilience and therapeutic communication, our courses are designed to empower practitioners at every level—whether you’re frontline staff, a strategic commissioner, or part of a multi-agency partnership.
Our facilitators bring many years clinical expertise , and a deep understanding of the social determinants of mental health. We prioritise co-production, reflective practice, and inclusive learning environments that foster curiosity, empathy, and professional growth.
Whether you’re looking to upskill your workforce, embed mental health into your organisational culture, or meet statutory training requirements, we offer flexible delivery formats including in-person workshops, webinars, and bespoke consultancy.
Together, we can build psychologically safe, responsive systems that promote wellbeing, reduce inequalities, and improve outcomes for individuals, families, and communities. Let’s shape the future of mental health—one conversation, one training, one transformation at a time..
Integrative Practice & the IPTF Framework · Advanced
Advanced MBT: Applications and Delivery
Adaptations, groups and running an MBT programme
This advanced course is designed for experienced practitioners seeking to extend the scope of Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT) beyond the individual dyad into complex group settings and systemic programmes. You will explore nuanced adaptations for challenging presentations, including antisocial behaviour, severe eating disorders, and the specific dynamics of adolescent and family work. The curriculum emphasises the delicate balance required to adapt core MBT principles to these contexts without compromising the integrity of the therapeutic frame, specifically examining the Social GGRRAAACCEEESSS model as a tool for understanding relational dynamics in these populations. The second module provides a comprehensive guide to the practicalities of running MBT groups and establishing a full-scale MBT programme within a service. You will develop the skills necessary to foster a robust team culture that supports mentalising, ensuring high standards of supervision and fidelity to the model. Furthermore, the training addresses the critical importance of outcome measurement, equipping you with the knowledge to utilise standardised tools such as the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 to monitor progress and refine clinical practice. This module is essential for service leads and senior clinicians dedicated to advancing their professional development and enhancing service delivery.
▶ See inside the digital classroom1 minute 36 seconds · how a course is laid out, how each lesson is taught, and how the tutor helps
Before you start
This is an Advanced course in the MBT pathway. It assumes that you already work with the approach at Practitioner level and want complexity, process and supervision-level thinking rather than the method itself, which is what MBT in Practice teaches. What it adds is complex presentations, comorbidity, ruptures and impasses, the research and process literature, and the judgement needed to supervise or lead the work; it revisits the foundations only as far as it needs to before building on them, so it does not repeat the course below.
A caution. Taking an Advanced course without the foundational understanding will make it harder to follow and to complete, and you will get less from it. If you are new to this approach, begin at Foundation; if you hold the foundations but have not yet used the approach with clients, begin with MBT in Practice. Choose the level that matches your existing experience and knowledge.
The MBT pathway. Mentalisation-based treatment from its foundations in attachment and mentalising, through MBT in practice, to its applications and delivery.
14 study hours14 CPD hours certified12 months of accessAI tutor in every lessonCertificate on completion (pass mark 70%)
What you will be able to do
✓Deliver MBT with severe and comorbid personality difficulty over full treatment arcs
✓Run MBT groups: mentalizing the group process itself, not just members serially
✓Apply MBT adaptations, including for antisocial presentations and adolescents, at awareness level
✓Supervise for mentalizing: spotting and repairing therapist non-mentalizing
✓Maintain the model under service pressure, and know what fidelity requires
✓Weigh the MBT evidence base and its comparative standing honestly
What you will study
Module 1: Adapting MBT for Complex Clinical Presentations
This module explores specialized MBT adaptations for trauma, eating disorders, psychosis, groups, and family work.
Adapting MBTMBT for antisocial presentations
Groups and family workFacilitating MBT groups
Mentalisation‑Based Treatment for Trauma‑Related PresentationsMentalisation deficits are central to the development and maintenance of PTSD and complex PTSD.
Mentalisation-Based Treatment for Eating Disorders1. MBT-ED integrates physical stabilisation with psychological treatment, recognising eating disorders as severe personality disturbances.
Mentalisation‑Based Treatment for Psychosis: Theory, Evidence, and Clinical ApplicationMentalising deficits are central to the development and maintenance of psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations.
Module 2: Lifespan and Diverse Population Adaptations in MBT
This module covers developmental and cultural adaptations of MBT for adolescents, older adults, substance use, forensic, and minority populations.
Mentalisation‑Based Treatment for Adolescents and Young Adults: Developmental Adaptations and Clinical ApplicationMentalising capacities are still developing in adolescence, making MBT a theoretically appropriate intervention for this age group.
Mentalisation‑Based Treatment for Substance Use DisordersMentalising deficits are a central mechanism that sustains substance use, linking affect dysregulation and interpersonal triggers to addictive behaviour.
Mentalisation‑Based Treatment for Forensic Populations: Theory, Adaptations and Clinical ApplicationMentalising deficits are central to the interpersonal and emotional dysregulation that underpins much offending behaviour.
Mentalisation‑Based Treatment for Older Adults: Developmental Considerations and Clinical AdaptationsOlder adults may experience a decline in mentalising capacity due to cognitive ageing, making explicit mentalising scaffolds essential.
Mentalisation‑Based Treatment for Culturally Diverse and Minority Populations: Adaptations and Clinical ConsiderationsCultural norms shape the development and expression of mentalising capacities, requiring therapists to adapt MBT language and pacing accordingly.
Module 3: Designing and Delivering MBT Programmes
This module focuses on establishing MBT programmes, measuring outcomes, supervising therapists, and managing attrition and cultural competence.
Establishing an MBT programmeProgramme structure
Measuring mentalising and outcomesMeasuring mentalising
Supervision, fidelity monitoring and therapist development in MBT programmesSupervision must combine structured fidelity rating (MBT‑ACS) with reflective dialogue that mirrors the mentalizing stance.
Managing Group Attrition and Dropout in MBT ProgrammesAttrition is a mentalising event that must be processed in the 'here-and-now' to maintain group integrity.
Cultural Adaptation and Competence in MBT Programme DeliveryCultural formulation is the foundational step for any MBT adaptation, ensuring interventions respect clients' belief systems and relational norms.
Module 4: Advanced Practice, Governance and Digital Delivery
This module addresses continuous quality improvement, managing therapeutic ruptures, digital delivery, multidisciplinary integration, and programme sustainability.
Embedding Continuous Quality Improvement and Routine Outcome Monitoring in MBT ProgrammesContinuous quality improvement must be driven by routine outcome monitoring linked to fidelity data.
Advanced Mentalisation-Based Treatment: Managing Therapist Ruptures and Repair in MBT ProgrammesRuptures in MBT are opportunities for mentalising rather than failures of technique, rooted in attachment-driven failures to hold the therapist’s mind in mind.
Digital and Remote Delivery of Mentalisation‑Based Treatment: Fidelity, Engagement, and OutcomesDigital MBT can achieve outcomes comparable to face‑to‑face delivery when fidelity is actively maintained.
Integrating Mentalisation‑Based Treatment within Multidisciplinary Mental Health ServicesA shared mentalising formulation aligns multidisciplinary perspectives around the patient’s mentalising capacities and deficits.
Sustaining Mentalisation‑Based Treatment: Commissioning, Funding and Service Development
