MBT Mentalization-Based Treatment in Ho Chi Minh City
A psychodynamic therapy for when emotions and relationships keep catching you off guard, with a Norway-licensed clinical psychologist. In person or online.
- 50-minute sessions
- 90 USD per session
- Saigon Pearl, Binh Thanh or online
- English or Norwegian
What is MBT?
Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) is a psychodynamic therapy that strengthens mentalizing: the ability to understand your own and other people’s behaviour in terms of thoughts, feelings, wishes and intentions. MBT was first developed for borderline personality disorder and has since been adapted to other formats, including group therapy.
- Type: psychodynamic therapy focused on mentalizing
- Often used for: intense emotions, relationship difficulties and borderline personality disorder
- Formats: individual and group (MBT-G)
- With me: 50-minute sessions in English or Norwegian, in Ho Chi Minh City or online
When mentalizing switches off
Everyone mentalizes, and everyone loses the capacity under pressure. When a close relationship feels threatened, the mind narrows, and three things tend to happen:
Feeling becomes fact
If I feel rejected, I have been rejected. There is no room for another explanation.
Words without feeling
Talking fluently about emotions, sometimes in great detail, without it touching anything.
Only actions count
Only something visible proves what someone feels: a reply within minutes, a gift, a dramatic gesture.
They are not flaws. They are what minds do under stress. The work is noticing when it happens and finding your way back to curiosity.
What happens in MBT
MBT sessions focus on recent, specific situations, usually with other people, where things went wrong or felt confusing. Together we slow the moment down.
- We trace what happened step by step, and what you felt at each point.
- We consider what the other person might have been thinking and feeling, without assuming we know.
- When emotions run high in the session, we pause and find our footing before going on.
- We pay attention to what happens between us, because misunderstandings with a therapist are useful material too.
Who MBT can help
MBT may help if you:
- feel emotions so fast and strongly that they take over
- often feel misunderstood, or find other people’s reactions hard to read
- have relationships that swing between closeness and conflict
- act on impulse when you are hurt, and regret it later
- have been diagnosed with borderline or emotionally unstable personality disorder, or wonder whether it fits you
If you are in immediate danger, or thinking about ending your life, weekly therapy is not the right place to start. Contact local emergency services or go to a hospital first.
How I use MBT
In Norway I worked at the outpatient clinic for personality disorders at Akershus University Hospital. There I carried out diagnostic assessments and co-led mentalization-based group therapy for patients with borderline personality disorder.
In individual therapy, I turn to MBT when relationships keep going wrong in ways you cannot quite account for, or when emotions arrive faster than you can think about them.
Frequently asked questions
What does mentalizing mean?
Mentalizing is making sense of behaviour, your own and other people’s, in terms of what is going on inside: thoughts, feelings, needs and intentions. It is what lets you think “she is quiet because she is worried, not because she is angry with me”, and then check whether that is right.
Is MBT only for borderline personality disorder?
No. It was first developed for borderline personality disorder, and it is also used when intense emotions and relationship difficulties are at the centre of other problems.
How is MBT different from DBT?
Both were developed for borderline personality disorder. DBT (dialectical behaviour therapy) teaches concrete skills for regulating emotion and tolerating distress. MBT works on understanding minds, your own and other people’s, so that emotions become less confusing and relationships less volatile.
How long does MBT take?
It depends on what you bring. Focused work on a specific pattern can be relatively short; longer-standing difficulties usually take more time. We agree on a focus early and review it together.
Can MBT be done online?
Yes, individual MBT sessions can be held online. Some people prefer to start in person.
Is MBT available in Vietnam?
It is still rare. I offer MBT in English and Norwegian at Saigon Pearl, Binh Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City, and online.
Do I need a diagnosis to start?
No. You do not need a diagnosis of any kind. We work out together whether MBT is a good fit.
Practical details
MBT is part of my individual therapy. Sessions are 50 minutes and cost 90 USD. We meet in person at Saigon Pearl, Binh Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City, or online. Sessions are in English, with Norwegian also available.
For more on how I work and how to begin, see Individual therapy.