Innovations in Practice: Adolescent Mentalization‐Based Integrative Therapy (AMBIT) – a new integrated approach to working with the most hard to reach adolescents with severe complex mental health needs. Issue 1 (4th May 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bevington, Dickon; Fuggle, Peter; Fonagy, Peter; Target, Mary; Asen, Eia
• Is Part Of: Child and adolescent mental health. Volume 18:Issue 1(2013:Feb.)
• Page Start: 46
• Page End: 51
• Publication Date: 2012-05-04
• Subjects: Adolescent psychology -- Periodicals; Child mental health -- Periodicals; Child psychiatry -- Periodicals; Child psychology -- Periodicals; Teenagers -- Mental health -- Periodicals; 155.405
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-3588.2012.00666.x
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1475-357X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="camh666-abs-0001"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec id="camh666-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Background</title> <p> <italic>'</italic>Hard to reach' young people are associated by virtue of their serious, multiple, and complex needs, the difficulty of delivering effective help to them, and their poor long‐term outcomes. There is a lack of published evidence relating to the effectiveness of interventions directed at this group.</p> </sec> <sec id="camh666-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Method</title> <p>We review these concerns and the options available to service commissioners and clinicians seeking, if not an evidence‐based approach then at least an evidence‐oriented one. A mentalization‐based multimodal intervention (AMBIT) is briefly described, proposing a new kind of specialist practitioner and taking a radically different approach to treatment manualization.</p> </sec> <sec id="camh666-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>A brief description is given of the different settings in which AMBIT is currently being developed, deployed, and evaluated, and of lessons learned.</p> </sec> <sec id="camh666-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>AMBIT offers promise as an evolving 'open source' framework supporting development of evidence‐based local practice in chaotic complex settings.</p> </sec> </abstract>