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Adopting Minds — a mentalization-based therapy for families in a post-adoption support service: preliminary evaluation and service user experience

Midgley, N; Alayza, A; Lawrence, H; Bellew, R; (2018) Adopting Minds — a mentalization-based therapy for families in a post-adoption support service: preliminary evaluation and service user experience. Adoption & Fostering , 42 (1) pp. 22-37. 10.1177/0308575917747816. Green open access

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Abstract

Children placed for adoption often face unique challenges and are at higher risk of mental health problems compared to the general population. Yet despite some important clinical developments, there is still a lack of evidence related to effective therapeutic interventions for this population. This study reports on the preliminary evaluation of a mentalization-based family therapy service, Adopting Minds, offered as part of a post-adoption support service. Thirty-six families who had adopted 42 children were referred to the service between September 2015 and December 2016. Demographic information was collected and assessments undertaken on the families at baseline and at the end of therapy, using a range of validated measures. Five families who had completed therapy were also interviewed about their experience of the approach. For those families on which data were available, positive outcomes in mental health and parental self-efficacy were identified, and adoptive parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the mentalization-based family therapy service. Analysis of the interviews revealed that the families found it a containing space that was supportive and non-judgemental. They felt able to express their fears and worries to a therapist who was friendly and knowledgeable and reported that the service helped them to deal with and link struggles they were facing to their own as well as their child's past experiences. However, some adoptive families felt that this short-term, six-session service alone was not enough to address all the difficulties that had brought the family to seek help, and would have preferred a longer-term intervention or therapy in combination with other types of support.

Type: Article
Title: Adopting Minds — a mentalization-based therapy for families in a post-adoption support service: preliminary evaluation and service user experience
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1177/0308575917747816
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1177/0308575917747816
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Mentalization, MBT, Adopted children, Adoption support, Family therapy
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10049371
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