Psicoterapia baseada na mentalização de crianças abrigadas com indicadores de depressão

Abstract

This study on Clinic Psychology focused the possibility of development of the reflective function and the mentalization capacity in the psychotherapy of children living in sheltering institutions and that presented depression symptoms or indicators. Based on the contributions of the attachment theory, specifically the concepts of the reflective function and capacity of mentalization, a study guided by the qualitative-exploratory approach was made adopting the procedure of Multiple Case Studies. Two children aged 7 and 9 years were followed in psychotherapy for 6 months. The children were evaluated before and after the psychotherapeutic process with Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) for the analysis of depression indicators and the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task – MCAST for the identification of the children’s internal representations of attachment and their mentalization capacity. In accordance with the qualitative analysis and with the aid of the instruments, it was possible to establish that psy