Single-session Mentalization-based Treatment Group for Law Enforcement Officers.

Law enforcement violence has emerged as a leading public health concern, and law enforcement officers are themselves at greater risk for a range of psychiatric disorders. Drawing on the significant empirical support for mentalization-based treatment (MBT), this paper explores the use of MBT as a transdiagnostic psychotherapy for law enforcement professionals. By helping patients to mentalize-that is, to "read," access, and reflect on mental states in oneself and other people-MBT could be useful as a dual-focus treatment, able to simultaneously impact psychiatric illness among law enforcement officers while also indirectly impacting the problem of law enforcement violence in the broader society. The core psychotherapeutic principles of MBT are reviewed, along with common vulnerabilities in mentalizing likely to arise for law enforcement professionals in the context of high emotional and interpersonal intensity. The authors outline a novel application of MBT which has implications for psychiatric treatment as well as police training: the single-session psychoeducation and psychotherapy group, where law enforcement officers practice both self-reflection and empathy in situations of relational conflict. Utilizing group process from a residential treatment program for first responders with mental health and substance use disorders, a case example is offered to illustrate this intervention.

Mentalization-Based Treatment for Pathological Narcissism.

Despite the growing cultural and empirical interest in pathological narcissism (PN), effective treatment guidelines for PN have not yet been established. This article develops mentalization-based treatment (MBT), a leading evidence-based therapy for borderline personality disorder, as a primary intervention for PN. Synthesizing research on parenting styles, attachment patterns, and empathy in PN, the authors propose a developmental model of narcissism centering on impairments in mentalization. Core therapeutic techniques of MBT for PN are outlined, including clinical examples to illustrate practical implementation. As an accessible, easy-to-operationalize, and resource-sensitive therapeutic approach, MBT offers considerable promise for future empirical investigation and clinical applications in the treatment of patients with pathological narcissism.