Making room for mentalization in everyday parenting: from research to practice

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Parental mentalization is considered a fundamental mechanism contributing to sensitive parenting, reduced parental coercion and hostility, and the development of secure attachment. While the salient role of parental mentalization in child development is well established, there is mounting evidence of the dynamic nature of parental mentalization and the challenges involved in activating mentalization in everyday parenting. In the proposed panel that brings together studies from Israel and the US, we focus on three distinct interventions, all aiming to enhance parental mentalization. Each intervention highlights distinct components related to the activation of parental mentalization. Taken together, these presentations contribute to the understanding of parental mentalization in distinct contexts while stressing individual differences and the need for tailored therapy. The first presentation discusses the challenges of parental mentalization in the context of homework support. Using the results of an RCT assessing online intervention to improve homework support, the presentation demonstrates how helping parents to focus their attention on the child enables parents to activate their capacity for mentalization. The second presentation, using RCT data, examines the mechanisms of change parents show, following an intervention focusing on relational versus personal savoring. The third presentation raises the question in intervention studies of “what works for whom” and demonstrates that parents experiencing low- versus high- distress benefit differently from mentalization-based intervention. We conclude the panel with a discussion of the mechanisms required to support parental mentalization in everyday life and possible approaches for disseminating these mechanisms while considering parents’ distress and the importance of context.

Sub Unit

• Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Chairs

• Naama Atzaba-Poria, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

• Naama Gershy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Discussant

• Miriam Steele, New School for Social Research

Individual Presentations

• Activating parental mentalization during homework time; the role of mindful observation - Presenting Author: Naama Gershy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Racheli Cohen, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Yuval Zonberg, Hebrew University

• Savoring Interventions for Mothers of Young Children: Mechanisms Linking Relational Savoring and Personal Savoring to Reflective Functioning - Presenting Author: Jessica L Borelli, University of California - Irvine; Kelly Kazmierski; Gerin Gaskin, Claremont Graduate University; Margaret L. Kerr, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Patricia A Smiley, Pomona College; Hannah Faith Rasmussen, University of Southern California

• What Works for Whom? Moderators in Mentalization-Based Intervention - Presenting Author: Naama Atzaba-Poria, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Atara Menashe-Grinberg; Sofie Rousseau