About MBTAG

Since 2016 MBT Australia has been supporting the development of MBT in Australia. Today MBT Australia Group is the national organisation for MBT training and supervision. Directed by Dr Michael Daubney, Margie Stuchbery and Dr Celeste Benetti MBT Australia Group is an internationally accredited MBT training centre supported by the Anna Freud Centre and part of the International Network of MBT centres. MBT Australia has been leading and coordinating MBT training operations in Australia since 2016. Today MBT is embedded in clinical services in NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

Margie Stuchbery, M.Psych (Couns), MAPS, MCCLP

Margie is a clinical psychologist, turned supervisor, turned trainer and writer . Wrangling with the impact of early trauma on minds and hearts and relationships has led her through attachment theory and related accredited trainings to Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT). Margie is an accredited MBT supervisor and trainer. Margie also conducts training for clinicians on developing parental reflective functioning and other mentalization based phenomena. She has published papers on MBT and regularly presents at seminars and conferences. Margie applies the mentalizing principles to her supervision and training of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and mental health workers in juvenile justice, child protection, forensic and clinical domains. Margie maintains a private practice delivering clinical services to adults and children as well as providing education and clinical supervision to MBT practitioners. Margie is also an accredited practitioner of the infant-parent therapy Watch, Wait and Wonder and has trained in the use of the Parent Development Interview to assess Parental Reflective Functioning.

Margie lectures at UTS in the Masters of clinical psychology program and remains a life-long learner.

Email: margiestuchbery@hotmail.com

Works in Sydney

Michael Daubney

Michael Daubney is a Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist with clinical interests in psychotherapy, trauma, infant mental health and adolescent inpatient and outpatient treatment.

He is Medical Director of Specialist Teams CHQ HHS and the consultant psychiatrist to Brisbane north, Brisbane North and Caboolture Assertive Mobile Youth Outreach Services and the Day Program Brisbane North.

He is the current Chair of the binational Committee Section of Psychotherapy (RANZCP), an Accredited Mentalization Based Therapy supervisor with the Anna Freud Centre and is undertaking a Higher Research Degree at Griffith University developing an instrument assessing social emotional development in 3 year olds.

He is the supervisor of the junior and advanced Child and Adolescent Psychiatry trainees in psychodynamic psychotherapy, conducts supervision of other professionals including GPs and maintains a psychotherapy component in his private practice.

He has been receiving psychotherapy supervision from Professor Bateman for a number of years.


Email: drdaubney@gmail.com

Works in Brisbane

Celeste Benetti

Celeste is a Clinical Psychologist in Melbourne, Australia. She is an accredited MBT Practitioner, Supervisor, and Trainer. She supervises and coordinates the MBT Program at the Alfred Child and Youth Mental Health Service (Alfred CYMHS) where she is also the Practice Lead for Complex Trauma. Celeste has worked with young people and adults with Borderline Personality Disorder and their families for over 15 years. She first trained in MBT in 2012 and implemented the MBT Program at Alfred CYMHS in 2015. This program includes weekly individual sessions and MBT group program for young people aged 17 to 26 years and supervision to clinical staff (psychology, nursing, psychiatry including registrars, and allied health professionals) involved in working with these young people. In 2019 Celeste implemented the MBT Families and Carers Training and Support Programme (MBT-FACTS) through Alfred CYMHS as a delayed treatment Randomized Control Trial, and this is now run four times a year.

Celeste has presented her research at conferences and delivered introductory MBT lectures in various postgraduate courses. She provides one day workshops through the Alfred to introduce an overview of how mentalizing principles may be considered in everyday practice to clinicians of all disciplines and across all service areas (e.g. inpatient psychiatry, adult community, child and youth, emergency psychiatry). Additionally she also works in private practice with adults, adolescents, parents, and families and provides MBT individual and group supervision. Celeste has experience in supervising clinicians who work in private practice, public area mental health services in Australia and internationally, private inpatient settings, and forensic treatment settings.

Email: celeste.benetti@live.com.au

Works in Melbourne