Enhancing Attachment and Reflective Parenting in Clinical Practice

“This outstanding, beautifully written book gives clinicians an understanding of how to apply Minding the Baby principles with parents of infants and young children. It is by far the very best description of applied attachment theory and the concept of mentalizing available for a clinical audience. Practitioners are guided to improve parents’ experiences and practices, with the ultimate aim of improving young children's lives. The authors do not shy away from challenging questions about the universal applicability of attachment theory—instead, they address them head-on, emphasizing the importance of race, poverty, and other societal factors in the lives of families. I would use this book for my elective clinical practice class entitled Stress and Trauma in the Early Years.”

—Ruth Paris, PhD, School of Social Work, Boston University


“An exceptionally helpful and practical guide, written by one of the world’s best experts in this field. Slade and her colleagues provide a crystal-clear description of clinical strategies based on one of the most influential evidence-based interventions for vulnerable parents and children. The book shows how to understand and address tough parenting challenges that can gravely undermine children's development and well-being. Practitioners will treasure this superb work.”

—Peter Fonagy, CBE, FMedSci, FBA, FAcSS, Head, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, United Kingdom


“This much-needed book fills an important gap in the literature on parenting interventions. It will serve as a go-to resource for mental health providers from a range of disciplines, including nursing, psychology, and social work, because it models a clinical attitude and describes therapeutic techniques in a clear, approachable style. The clinical examples—of both effective interventions and interventions that 'miss the mark'—help the reader appreciate the central role of mentalization in promoting emotional growth. The numerous figures depicting the relationships between concepts are a useful tool for better understanding. The Clinician Mentalizing Self-Assessment feature is simply brilliant.”

—Alicia F. Lieberman, PhD, Irving B. Harris Endowed Chair in Infant Mental Health and Professor, Department of Psychiatry ​and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco


“In this book, you will find a therapeutic recipe crafted by people who are caring for parents and children. This is an intervention that carries the souls and hearts of the families and professionals who have helped to create it. Surrounding this is the science that provides support for the intervention—both the data and the theory. What you will feel most strongly as you take in the principles and ideas of this program are the arms holding you up until you are ready to hold up others.”

—Jessica Borelli, PhD, Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine