Parental Reflective Functioning

Being able to mentalize oneself and have some reasonably accurate idea what might be going on for an infant, child or young person is a critical capacity for parents and is called parental reflective functioning (PRF). Parents who can understand what is going on in their child’s mind or heart and respond to it somewhat sensitively have more harmonious relationships with their children and the children have better outcomes across a range of domains. Yet the intensity of demands on parents and the emotionally laden environment of the family are often not conducive to maintaining PRF. Moreover some parents find their own experience of trauma can interfere with being able to hold the child in mind.

The focus of this two day training is the clinical application of mentalizing principles and interventions to our work with parents to stimulate their capacity to perceive their child’s internal experience.

Upcoming Training

Trainings for 2024 will be announced soon.