Peter Fonagy
Encyclopedia
Peter Fonagy, born in 1952, at Budapest, Hungary, currently residing in London with his family; he has two children, Carolina and Francisco. Fonagy is a prominent contemporary psychoanalyst and clinical psychologist. He studied clinical psychology
at University College London. He is Professor of Psychoanalysis and head of the department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London, Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre
, a training and supervising analyst in the British Psycho-Analytical Society in child and adult analysis, a Fellow of the British Academy, and a registrant of the BPC
.
His clinical interests centre on issues of borderline
psychopathology
, violence and early attachment
relationships. His work attempts to integrate empirical research with psychoanalytic theory
. He has published over 400 articles and chapters and has authored or edited 20 books.
. To this regard he helped to improve the dialogue between analysts and cognitive therapists.
Fonagy has played and still plays a major role in the evaluation of psychotherapy research. The evaluation of his research is (mostly) based on the effectiveness of treatment. Evaluation of treatment has led to review, recommendations and implications of psychotherapy
. Fonagy has offered detailed evidence for the efficacy of psychological interventions of mental disorders and for special populations, including treatment of borderline personality disorder
.
as the ability to make and use mental representations of the own and other people’s emotional states. The authors discuss the ways in which bad and insufficient parenting, leading to certain attachment
styles, can leave children unable to modulate and interpret their own feelings, as well as the feelings of others. These inabilities to mentalize and regulate affect have implications for severe personality disorders, as well as general psychological problems of self-confidence, and sense of self.
, which was for a long time assumed to be treatment resistant. He and A. Bateman proposed in their book Psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder: mentalization based treatment, a new way to treat BPD.
Mentalization based treatment
(MBT), rooted in attachement theory, is based on the idea that people with Borderline personality disorder mainly lack the ability to mentalize, which is caused by an absence of contingent and marked mirroring
during development.
The primary goals of treatment are to improve mentalization skills, making connections between the inner experience of relationships and the actual representation, learning how to work with current emotions and how to establish real relationships. In this way they could form a more coherent sense of self and develop new (secure) attachment
styles.
What Works For Whom? A Critical Review of Treatments for Children and Adolescents (with M. Target, D. Cottrell, J. Phillips & Z. Kurtz - published 2002 by Guilford),
Affect Regulation, Mentalization, and the Development of the Self (with G. Gergely, E. Jurist and M. Target - published 2002 by Other Press),
Psychoanalytic Theories: Perspectives from Developmental Psychopathology (with M. Target - published 2003 by Whurr Publications),
Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder: Mentalization Based Treatment (with A. Bateman - ,published 2004 by Oxford University Press)
What Works For Whom? A Critical Review of Psychotherapy Research (fully revised and updated 2nd edition with A. Roth - published 2004 by Guilford).
Clinical psychology
Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development...
at University College London. He is Professor of Psychoanalysis and head of the department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London, Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre
Anna Freud Centre
The Anna Freud Centre is a child psychoanalysis research, training and treatment centre located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of only a small number of places in the UK where children can receive full psychoanalysis. It is closely associated with University College London and Yale...
, a training and supervising analyst in the British Psycho-Analytical Society in child and adult analysis, a Fellow of the British Academy, and a registrant of the BPC
British Psychoanalytic Council
The British Psychoanalytic Council is an association of training institutions, professional associations and accrediting bodies which have their roots in established psychoanalysis and analytical psychology...
.
His clinical interests centre on issues of borderline
Borderline personality disorder
Borderline personality disorder is a personality disorder described as a prolonged disturbance of personality function in a person , characterized by depth and variability of moods.The disorder typically involves unusual levels of instability in mood; black and white thinking, or splitting; the...
psychopathology
Psychopathology
Psychopathology is the study of mental illness, mental distress, and abnormal/maladaptive behavior. The term is most commonly used within psychiatry where pathology refers to disease processes...
, violence and early attachment
Attachment theory
Attachment theory describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans. Its most important tenet is that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally. Attachment theory is an interdisciplinary study...
relationships. His work attempts to integrate empirical research with psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory refers to the definition and dynamics of personality development which underlie and guide psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy. First laid out by Sigmund Freud, psychoanalytic theory has undergone many refinements since his work...
. He has published over 400 articles and chapters and has authored or edited 20 books.
Contemporary psychoanalysis
Fonagy contributed much to the development of contemporary psychoanalysisPsychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
. To this regard he helped to improve the dialogue between analysts and cognitive therapists.
Fonagy has played and still plays a major role in the evaluation of psychotherapy research. The evaluation of his research is (mostly) based on the effectiveness of treatment. Evaluation of treatment has led to review, recommendations and implications of psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
. Fonagy has offered detailed evidence for the efficacy of psychological interventions of mental disorders and for special populations, including treatment of borderline personality disorder
Borderline personality disorder
Borderline personality disorder is a personality disorder described as a prolonged disturbance of personality function in a person , characterized by depth and variability of moods.The disorder typically involves unusual levels of instability in mood; black and white thinking, or splitting; the...
.
Mentalization
In the book Affect regulation, mentalization and the development of the self, Fonagy and his colleagues put forth a detailed theory for the way in which the abilities to mentalize and to regulate affect can determine an individual’s successful development. They define mentalizationMentalization
Mentalization is a psychological concept that describes the ability to understand the mental state of oneself and others which underlies overt behaviour. Mentalization can be seen as a form of imaginative mental activity, which allow us to perceive and interpret human behaviour in terms of...
as the ability to make and use mental representations of the own and other people’s emotional states. The authors discuss the ways in which bad and insufficient parenting, leading to certain attachment
Attachment theory
Attachment theory describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans. Its most important tenet is that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally. Attachment theory is an interdisciplinary study...
styles, can leave children unable to modulate and interpret their own feelings, as well as the feelings of others. These inabilities to mentalize and regulate affect have implications for severe personality disorders, as well as general psychological problems of self-confidence, and sense of self.
Mentalization Based treatment
Fonagy is particularly interested in borderline personality disorderBorderline personality disorder
Borderline personality disorder is a personality disorder described as a prolonged disturbance of personality function in a person , characterized by depth and variability of moods.The disorder typically involves unusual levels of instability in mood; black and white thinking, or splitting; the...
, which was for a long time assumed to be treatment resistant. He and A. Bateman proposed in their book Psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder: mentalization based treatment, a new way to treat BPD.
Mentalization based treatment
Mentalization based treatment
Mentalization-based treatment is an innovative form of psychodynamic psychotherapy, developed and manualised by Peter Fonagy and Anthony Bateman. MBT has been designed for individuals with borderline personality disorder , who suffer from disorganised attachment and allegedly failed to develop a...
(MBT), rooted in attachement theory, is based on the idea that people with Borderline personality disorder mainly lack the ability to mentalize, which is caused by an absence of contingent and marked mirroring
Mirroring (psychology)
Mirroring is the behaviour in which one person copies another person usually while in social interaction with them. It may include miming gestures, movements, body language, muscle tensions, expressions, tones, eye movements, breathing, tempo, accent, attitude, choice of words/metaphors and other...
during development.
The primary goals of treatment are to improve mentalization skills, making connections between the inner experience of relationships and the actual representation, learning how to work with current emotions and how to establish real relationships. In this way they could form a more coherent sense of self and develop new (secure) attachment
Attachment theory
Attachment theory describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans. Its most important tenet is that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally. Attachment theory is an interdisciplinary study...
styles.
Most recent books
Attachment Theory and Psychoanalysis (published 2001 by Other Press),What Works For Whom? A Critical Review of Treatments for Children and Adolescents (with M. Target, D. Cottrell, J. Phillips & Z. Kurtz - published 2002 by Guilford),
Affect Regulation, Mentalization, and the Development of the Self (with G. Gergely, E. Jurist and M. Target - published 2002 by Other Press),
Psychoanalytic Theories: Perspectives from Developmental Psychopathology (with M. Target - published 2003 by Whurr Publications),
Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder: Mentalization Based Treatment (with A. Bateman - ,published 2004 by Oxford University Press)
What Works For Whom? A Critical Review of Psychotherapy Research (fully revised and updated 2nd edition with A. Roth - published 2004 by Guilford).
External links
- Website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychoanalysis/unit-staff/affect.htm