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2026 Riggs Yale Conference "Mentalizing Across Contexts" (Part 1 of 2) (Recorded self-study)
A conference presented by the Erikson Institute of the Austen Riggs Center, Yale Child Study Center, and the Anna Freud Centre
Mentalization—the capacity to understand one’s own and others’ behavior in terms of underlying thoughts, feelings, and intentions—is fundamental to emotional well-being, learning, and effective interpersonal functioning. Yet, how mentalization develops and operates can vary widely across age, culture, and context.
Part 1 of 2
Presentation: "Using Reflective Supervision to Promote Mentalization in Clinical and Educational Settings"
Presenter: Nancy Close, PhD
Description: This presentation begins with asking the audience to think of a supervisory experience that did not go well for them as a supervisee and to share some adjectives that would describe that experience in the chat. They respond about a supervisory experience that was positive and growth producing for them. An overview of the components and effectiveness of reflective supervision are then be presented. Vignettes of the reflective supervision process in both clinical and educational settings are described.
Presentation: "Mentalizing with Parents: Supporting a Neurodiverse Adolescent through Epistemic Justice and Systemic Reflection"
Presenter: Norka Malberg, PsyD
Description: This presentation explores the clinical value of working with parents from a mentalization based perspective. It draws on a complex case involving a 14-year-old neurodiverse adolescent and the therapeutic work undertaken with their parents. The discussion reflects on how adopting a mentalizing stance can influence and support the wider systems surrounding the young person. The concept of epistemic justice is briefly introduced and linked to the mentalizing stance, highlighting its relevance in recognizing and valuing parents’ and young people’s perspectives within clinical work.
Presentation: "Assessing and Promoting Parental Reflective Capacities in Sessions with Parents of Young Children"
Presenter: Michael B. Hager, PhD
Description: Reflective functioning (RF) refers to an adult’s capacity to understand behavior in oneself and others as being motivated by underlying mental states, such as thoughts, feelings, desires, and intentions (Fonagy et al., 1991). Further, parental reflective functioning specifically describes a caregiver’s ability to recognize, interpret, and respond to their child’s internal experiences (Luyten et al., 2017; Slade, 2005). This presentation reviews the current literature on parental reflective functioning, including its well-established associations with children’s social-emotional development and attachment security, as well as the primary methods used to assess it. Building on this foundation, the speaker proposes a novel observational framework that clinicians can use in-session to evaluate parental reflective capacities in real time, supporting ongoing monitoring of growth in these skills and informing tailored intervention strategies. Clinical vignettes illustrate varying “levels” of parental reflective functioning, and examples of targeted interventions designed to strengthen parental reflection are also outlined.
Target Audience
______ Introductory ___X___ Intermediate ______ Advanced
Learning Objectives
- Participants will be able to describe the process of reflective supervision.
- Participants will connect the process of reflective supervision with the promotion of mentalization in clinicians and educators.
Describe the construct of parental reflective functioning (RF) and summarize current empirical findings linking parental RF to children’s social-emotional development and attachment security.
Identify existing methods for assessing parental reflective functioning and recognize their clinical applications and limitations in early childhood mental health settings
Reflect on how the mentalizing stance can impact family and professional systems supporting the child
Describe key principles of a mentalization-based approach when working therapeutically with parents of neurodiverse adolescents
Nancy Close, PhD, is an associate professor at the Yale Child Study Center. She specializes in the assessment and treatment of children from birth to 5. She is the clinical director of the Parent and Family Development Program–a mental health clinic for parents. She teaches developmental psychology to Yale undergraduates and trains pre and postdoctoral fellows in psychiatry, psychology and social work in assessment and treatment of young children.
Norka Malberg, PsyD, is a psychoanalyst and psychotherapist living and working in Barcelona, Spain. She is a board certified child psychoanalyst and adult psychoanalyst, and member of the Western New England Psychoanalytic Society and The Spanish Psychoanalytic Society. Dr. Malberg is an assistant clinical professor at the Yale Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine, a clinical tutor at the Anna Freud Centre in London and professor at the Instituto Universitario de la Fundación Vidal y Barraquer / Ramon Llull University, Barcelona. She is the director of IMAGINA: Centro de Aplicaciones de la Mentalización, a teaching center out of Barcelona, Spain providing teaching and supervision to Spain and Latin America. Dr. Malberg has published widely on attachment, relational trauma and mentalization. She is the co-author of the Mentalization Based Therapy for Children book, Working with Parents from a Mentalization Perspective Working with Emotion in Psychotherapy and most recently, the upcoming book: Mentalization Based Therapy for Children in the Autistic Spectrum.
Michael B. Hager, PhD, is the Postdoctoral Early Childhood Psychology Fellow at the Yale Child Study Center, where he specializes in the assessment and treatment of children from birth to age five. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the New School for Social Research and completed his predoctoral internship at the Yale Child Study Center, alongside clinical externships in hospital, community mental health, and school-based settings. Dr. Hager received the Alfred J. Marrow Memorial Award in Psychology for his doctoral research, which focused on developing and psychometrically evaluating a novel observational measure of parental reflective functioning and sensitivity, the Parent Rearing Coding System (PRCS). He has also held research positions at the Center for Attachment Research and at the Nurse-Family Partnership/Child First Center for Prevention and Early Trauma Treatment.
Austen Riggs Center Inc. adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. All those at Austen Riggs Center involved in the planning of this activity, including the presenter(s) listed above, report they have no relevant financial relationships with an ineligible company*.
The views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of the Austen Riggs Center.
* An ineligible company is any entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Available Credit
- 2.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
ACCME - As a Jointly Accredited Organization, The Austen Riggs Center, Inc. designates this learning activity for a maximum of 2.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
- 2.50 APA
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, The Austen Riggs Center, Inc. designates this learning activity for 2.50 continuing education credit(s) (CE) for psychology. Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.
Austen Riggs Center, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0115.
- 2.50 ASWB-ACE
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, The Austen Riggs Center, Inc is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organization, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Austen Riggs Center maintains responsibility for this. Social workers completing this will receive 2.50 continuing education credit(s).
Austen Riggs Center, Inc is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0843.
- 2.50 Contact Hours/ ParticipationA certificate of attendance for all Learners.