We would like to share an incredible experience from Copenhagen, where we attended the 7th International Conference on Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT). We returned full of inspiration and new ideas.

It was truly wonderful to see such a strong Hungarian team representing our profession at this prestigious international event. We were especially proud that among the international speakers, Hungarian experts were also present, and we had the opportunity to meet and speak with them. From our own team, the work with children, adolescents, and families was represented by Erika Pap.

The conference program was exceptionally rich and thought-provoking, allowing us to explore both the theoretical foundations and the practical applications of mentalization in great depth. Some of the topics that particularly captured our attention and sparked meaningful reflection included:

Epistemic trust – To what extent can we place trust in this therapeutic approach? The conference opened with a powerful and engaging debate on this fascinating question.

Through multiple lectures and workshops, participants had the opportunity to reflect on how trauma influences our capacity to mentalize across different stages of life. We were particularly impressed by the workshop led by Holly Dwyer Hall and Theresa Schwaiger, which explored the distinction between PTSD-related difficulties and mentalizing breakdowns in states of psychic equivalence.

Another highlight was the workshop led by Norka Malberg, which focused on therapeutic support for autistic children and their families using the MBT-C model.

We also gained insight into how MBT can support the treatment of psychosis, and we were introduced more deeply to the foundations and practical applications of the AMBIT model, which supports expert multidisciplinary teams.

Through clinical case presentations and role-play demonstrations, we had the opportunity to observe firsthand how mentalization-based interventions work with children, adolescents, and adults.

Once again, we were reminded of how widely applicable this approach is—not only in psychotherapy and developmental psychology, but also in everyday life and within organizational settings.

We were especially proud that Peter Fonagy personally led several sessions and lectures. We were equally proud to see Hungarian experts among the international speakers, including György Gergely, Dóra Kampis, and Orsolya Koós, who presented her research on infant development.

This conference strongly reinforced our belief in the importance and growing relevance of mentalization-based approaches in psychotherapy and developmental psychology. We brought home an enormous amount of new knowledge, inspiration, and professional motivation that we will continue to integrate into our future work.

A heartfelt thank you to the Hungarian team for their outstanding representation, to all participants for the meaningful conversations, shared reflections, and international connections, and to the organizing team for their dedication and hard work! 🙏🏼😍