Anna Freud

Anna Freud 🩵 Transforming mental health care for children and young people through science, collaboration and clinical innovation

Account monitored Mon-Fri 9-5

We're a mental health charity and we’ve been supporting children and young people for over 70 years. We listen to and learn from their diverse voices, and integrate this with learnings from our science and practice to develop and deliver mental health care. This holistic approach has world-changing potential – our training, schools support, networks, partnerships and resources equip those who impa

ct children and young people’s lives with the knowledge and skills to support their mental health. We believe mental wellbeing is the foundation from which children and young people achieve their potential. By continually expanding our understanding and translating it into practice – grounded in science and guided by children and young people – we can ensure they get the right support at the right time. This account is monitored Monday-Friday 9am-5pm GMT.

Mentalizing is a core skill that we all can do as humans. It is the ability to interpret and understand others’ mental s...
05/06/2026

Mentalizing is a core skill that we all can do as humans. It is the ability to interpret and understand others’ mental states and intentions, as well as our own.

People with complex relational and emotional issues, commonly diagnosed with a personality disorder, can sometimes struggle to mentalize, but mentalizing can often help them manage their distress.

If you work therapeutically with those with a personality disorder, our basic training in Mentalization Based Treatment can help you.

You’ll learn about the developmental origins of mentalizing, its research base and its relevance to personality and psychological functioning.

You’ll also get practice in applying mentalizing concepts in your clinical practice.

Find out more: https://orlo.uk/2mI4i

Mentalizing is something we do naturally as humans. It’s our ability to understand others’ behaviours by looking at thei...
03/06/2026

Mentalizing is something we do naturally as humans. It’s our ability to understand others’ behaviours by looking at their underlying mental states. It helps us make sense of why we – and other people – might be acting a certain way.

If a child is angry at their caregiver, when mentalizing, the caregiver might notice how they feel frustrated but then think:
“my child might be hungry”
“they might be tired” or
“their routine has been disrupted”

Mentalizing can help families with challenges like emotional and behavioural issues, anxiety, depression, relational difficulties, and family conflict. Mentalizing can be taught to families in clinical settings.

Here are some ways mentalizing helps families...

🧠 It reduces misunderstandings.
Instead of jumping to conclusions (“She’s being rude on purpose”), caregivers learn to slow down and notice what they are feeling when faced with their child’s behaviour and then think about what might be happening for the child, “Maybe she’s tired or upset about something.” This helps avoid arguments.

🧠 It improves communication.
When people mentalize, they talk more openly about how they feel (“I felt ignored when you didn’t answer me”) rather than blaming (“You never listen”). This can make conversations calmer and clearer.

🧠 It builds empathy.
Families become better at seeing things from each other’s point of view – helping everyone feel more supported and understood.

🧠 It helps with controlling one’s own emotions.
When people understand their own emotions better, they can manage them more calmly – for example, recognising “I’m angry because I felt left out” instead of just shouting.

🧠 It strengthens relationships.
Over time, this leads to more trust, closeness, and a sense that “we’re on the same team.”

Mentalizing helps families stay connected, kind and calm. Even when things are stressful.

Do you work in child and family mental health?

Join our upcoming course for a full introduction to Mentalization-Based Treatment for Families (MBT-F).

We offer a hands-on exploration of all the essential elements of MBT-F. We emphasise applying the core mentalizing stance in working with families, so we’ll cover assessment techniques like developing a mentalizing profile and provide opportunities to hone specific techniques for working with families in this way.

Our next start dates...
5 January
9 March
6 July

Find out more:
https://orlo.uk/VeN8j

How does MBT therapy help adolescents who are self-harming?MBT is mentalization-based treatment. It's a type of therapy ...
02/06/2026

How does MBT therapy help adolescents who are self-harming?

MBT is mentalization-based treatment. It's a type of therapy that helps you to reflect on your own thoughts and feelings, and to imagine what others might be thinking and feeling.

Mentalizing is the human ability to be curious about what’s in your mind and others’.

Self-harm can sometimes be a coping mechanism for managing very difficult thoughts and feelings.

Sometimes in close relationships it can be harder to mentalize or make sense of what is happening in ours and others’ minds.

When we’re struggling to mentalize it’s harder to be curious about ourselves and other people.

Feelings can become facts. “I feel hurt” can become “you meant to hurt me.”

This can be distressing and make us more vulnerable to spiralling quickly and managing our distress in ways like self-harm.

MBT helps you stay grounded in relationships.

For example, if you’re worried your friend doesn’t like you, mentalizing helps you to slow down and reflect on these feelings and to be curious about your friend’s actions before reacting too quickly.

Did you know we’re one of the leading organisations in Mentalization-Based Treatment?

Our MBT training is backed by years of research and delivered by our world experts in the field. That’s what makes Anna Freud who we are today: evidencing what works and turning that into tools that help children, young people, professionals and families.

Mentalization-Based Treatment can be an effective treatment approach for working with adolescents with problems like:

🧠 interpersonal difficulties
🧠 emotional dysregulation
🧠 impulsivity
🧠 self-harm

Join us to learn to how apply this model effectively in clinical settings. We still have some spaces available for our next courses on 15 June or 16 September. Find out more: https://orlo.uk/Iiqsa

Things have come a long way since our founder worked with children last century. Our colloquium this year will bring tog...
27/05/2026

Things have come a long way since our founder worked with children last century. Our colloquium this year will bring together clinicians, researchers and academics to examine the evolving landscape of adolescence in a technologically saturated world.

We’ll bring together reflections on digital culture, clinical risk and contemporary therapeutic practice.

Through a series of talks, panel discussions, clinical papers and clinical groups, you’ll reflect on how psychoanalytic thinking can engage with these shifting realities.

And we’ll think about holding together the vulnerabilities and resilience of young people while creating spaces for thoughtful clinical reflection rather than simple solutions.

Book your place: https://www.annafreud.org/adolescent-mental-health-in-the-digital-age-in-person/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=colloquium&utm_id=colloquium

We know that young people thrive when schools can prioritise mental health alongside learning. If you work at a secondar...
26/05/2026

We know that young people thrive when schools can prioritise mental health alongside learning.

If you work at a secondary, state-maintained school in England, take part in Place2Be's trial of a new whole-school intervention to support students!

The intervention aims to improve academic outcomes, mental health, feelings of belonging and engagement for students, as well as to reduce bullying and foster a positive school climate.

Our researchers here at Anna Freud will be collating some of the data and we're so excited to help schools help their young people.

Find out more and register your interest: https://orlo.uk/XRHJH

Are you a clinical mental health practitioner who uses mentalizing techniques in your work? Come to our essential cours...
22/05/2026

Are you a clinical mental health practitioner who uses mentalizing techniques in your work?

Come to our essential course for anyone who aims to progress towards MBT Practitioner Certification.

The training will help you:
✏️ Deepen your understanding of mentalizing and the MBT therapeutic framework
✏️ Apply MBT techniques more effectively in individual or group work
✏️ Enhance your clinical formulation skills, with a focus on personality disorder
✏️ Build competence through live practice, feedback and structured supervision
✏️ Develop the reflective capacity essential for high quality MBT delivery

Find out more: https://orlo.uk/LJ0As

Talking to children about puberty can feel daunting, and for many parents and carers of autistic children, starting thes...
21/05/2026

Talking to children about puberty can feel daunting, and for many parents and carers of autistic children, starting these conversations can feel even harder.

Parents often worry about:

· saying the wrong thing
· how to discuss hygiene, body changes, and periods
· boundaries, consent, and safety

Dr Aimee Grant, who leads the "Autism: from menstruation to menopause" project at Swansea University, has recorded a video with 5 practical tips that can make these conversations easier, and has shared the tips above too.

Watch the video or share it with someone who might find it helpful! https://orlo.uk/2RqNI

NHS England Workforce, Training and Education

These actions are important in parent and infant relationships, but some parents can struggle with these due to their ow...
20/05/2026

These actions are important in parent and infant relationships, but some parents can struggle with these due to their own mental ill health.

Do you work with children in the early years and their families?

Psychologists, therapists, social workers, counsellors and more, we have new dates for our training in the Parental Embodied Mentalizing Assessment.

This helps you recognise key elements of parent-infant interactions.

You’ll explore the nuances of nonverbal communication and its profound impact on child development.

With this, you’ll be able to identify risk in parent-infant relationships, as well as what helps protect their mental health.

Find out more: https://orlo.uk/CkW4f

The government shared it’s developing a new mental health strategy last week, and they’re calling for evidence to shape ...
19/05/2026

The government shared it’s developing a new mental health strategy last week, and they’re calling for evidence to shape it.

Our CEO says:

“We will now join other experts and clinicians across the country in contributing to the Call for Evidence.

“We urge the government to give children and young people a meaningful role.

“With half of mental health conditions starting before the age of 14, their voices, alongside evidence from research and clinical expertise, are essential for ensuring that this strategy is effective, sustainable and delivers for those that need it the most.”

Read our full statement: https://orlo.uk/2kPAl

Around every 20 seconds, a referral is made for a child or young person to access mental health services in England. Tha...
16/05/2026

Around every 20 seconds, a referral is made for a child or young person to access mental health services in England. That's about 4,000 referrals every day.

There’s so much disheartening news out there at the moment so we wanted to share a few people who are taking action and doing amazing things for mental health right now - for people of all ages.

Who would you add to this list?

We’re coming to the end of Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme this year has been taking action.

Here at Anna Freud, we turn evidence into action by translating everything we are learning into tools and activities that help children, young people, professionals and families. đź–¤

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4-8 Rodney Street
London
N19JH

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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+442077942313

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