Peter Fonagy, (born 14 August 1952) is a Hungarian-born British

psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...

and

clinical psychologist Clinical psychology is an integration of social 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 persona ...

. He studied

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social 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 persona ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. He is Professor of Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Developmental Science and Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences at University College London, Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre and a training and supervising analyst in the British Psycho-Analytical Society in child and adult analysis. His clinical interests centre on issues of borderline

psychopathology Psychopathology is the study of abnormal cognition, behaviour, and experiences which differs according to social norms and rests upon a number of constructs that are deemed to be the social norm at any particular era. Biological psychopatholo ...

, violence and early

attachment Attachment may refer to: Entertainment * ''Attachments'' (novel), a 2011 novel by Rainbow Rowell * ''Attachments'' (TV series), a BBC comedy-drama that ran from 2000 to 2002 Law * Attachment (law), a means of collecting a legal judgment by lev ...

relationships. His work attempts to integrate empirical research with

psychoanalytic theory Psychoanalytic theory is the theory of personality organization and the dynamics of personality development that guides psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology. First laid out by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century, psyc ...

. He has published over 500 papers, 270 chapters and has authored 19 and edited 17 books.

Career

Fonagy is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Faculty of Medical Sciences, the Academy of Social Sciences and a registrant of the

BPC BPC may refer to: * Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, a government tourism organization of Bangladesh *'' Bâtiment de projection et de commandement'' (projection and command ship), the ''Mistral'' class of amphibious assault ships *Battery Park Ci ...

. He was appointed twice as a Senior Investigator by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Fonagy was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to psychoanalysis and clinical psychology and received the Wiley Prize of the British Academy for Lifetime Achievements.

Contemporary psychoanalysis

Fonagy received the

Otto Weininger Memorial Award The Otto Weininger Memorial Award for lifetime achievement is given annually by the Canadian Psychological Association Psychoanalytic Section to a psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychologist who has demonstrated outstanding clinical, empirical, or ...

for his contributions to the development of contemporary

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

. To this end he has helped to improve the dialogue between analysts and

cognitive Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

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 (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

. Fonagy has offered detailed evidence for the efficacy of psychological interventions of mental disorders and for special populations, including medical and psychosocial therapies for children and young people and psychological therapies for

borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong ...

Mentalization

In their award-winning 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 ''mentalise'' and to regulate affect can determine an individual's successful development. They define mentalisation as the ability to make and use mental representations of their own and other people's emotional states. The authors discuss the ways in which bad and insufficient parenting, leading to certain

styles, can leave children unable to modulate and interpret their own feelings, as well as the feelings of others. These inabilities to mentalise and regulate affect have implications for severe

personality disorders Personality disorders (PD) are a class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the individual's culture ...

, as well as general psychological problems of self-confidence, and sense of self.

Mentalization-based treatment

Fonagy is particularly interested in

(BPD), which was for a long time assumed to be treatment-resistant. He and Anthony Bateman proposed a new way to treat BPD in their book ''Psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder: mentalisation-based treatment''.

Mentalization-based treatment Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) is an integrative form of psychotherapy, bringing together aspects of psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, systemic and ecological approaches. MBT was developed and manualised by Peter Fonagy and Anthony Ba ...

(MBT), rooted in attachment theory, is based on the idea that people with borderline personality disorder mainly lack a reliable capacity to mentalise, which is caused by an absence of contingent and marked

mirroring Mirroring is the behavior in which one person subconsciously imitates the gesture, speech pattern, or attitude of another. Mirroring often occurs in social situations, particularly in the company of close friends or family, often going unnotice ...

during development. The primary goals of treatment are to improve mentalisation 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.

References

Works