The Nottinghamshire Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT) Service is a community service that offers group based therapy. It is for adults who have emotional and relationship difficulties and who choose to take part in therapy.

The service offers one joined up care pathway. We work closely with Adult Mental Health services, Forensic Personality Disorder services, and other specialist teams to make sure care is well connected. 

Contact and find us

Tel: 0115 876 0162

Nottinghamshire Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT) Service
Mandala Centre
Gregory Boulevard
Nottingham
NG7 6LB

Our service is open Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm.

Accessing our services

Referrals to the Notts MBT service are made via Secondary Mental Health Services following their assessment.  In some cases we will accept direct referrals from IAPT and primary care services but we would recommend a discussion with the team prior to making any referral. Unfortunately, due to changes in commissioning and the development of the Personality Disorder Pathway, we no longer accept direct GP referrals.   We will need the service user to remain open to the referring service until the referral is discussed/accepted as it may be that we do not go on to offer an initial assessment and we may make recommendations which require the referrer's action.

If you wish to be referred to the Notts MBT Service you will need to discuss this with a healthcare professional such as your GP, community psychiatric nurse, psychiatrist, or other mental health professional. 

We have a Contact system available every afternoon (1pm - 5pm).  This system is available for clinicians, service users and other services who work with service users accessing our service or presenting with difficulties linked to personality traits.  A clinician within the Notts MBT service will be available to manage calls regarding people in crisis, crisis services, clinical services and those 'in the gap' (i.e. not yet referred, referral rejected etc.), to offer advice/info and onward referral.  It is also a route to accessing clinical advice for staff/teams/services.

Information for health professionals

Please contact us on 0115 876 0162 if you wish to discuss a possible referral to our service.

 

How to refer someone to this service

We accept referrals from Secondary Mental Health Services i.e. Local Mental Health Teams and other Mental Health Services, unfortunately we are no longer able to accept direct GP referrals.  Referrals can be received directly to the service and, where the CORE assessment (RiO) documentation has not been completed, we would need to be on our referral form, and should include a recent risk assessment, child safeguarding information and past and current circumstances (please contact us on 0115 8760162 for a copy of the most up-to-date referral form). The service does have a number of exclusion criteria and so we would recommend contacting the service to discuss further if you are uncertain of these.

Travelling to Mandala Centre

Find your way here

Use Google Maps to find the best route to Mandala Centre.

 

Bus

You can get to the site using Nottingham City Transport and Trentbarton bus routes:

 

Tram 

The nearest tram station is The Forest Tram Stop.

For help planning your journey please visit: Plan Your Journey | Traveline

 

Bike

There is no designated cycling storage available on site.

You can plan your journey online by visiting the CycleStreets website.

Cycling to our sites is not only carbon emission free but is also excellent for physical and mental wellbeing.

 

Train

The nearest train station is Nottingham Railway Station (2.7 miles).

For help planning your journey please visit: Plan Your Journey | Traveline

 

Parking

There is limited free visitor and service user parking onsite.

What do we do?

We provide: 

  • Individual assessments
  • Group based therapy in the community

We work with people who: 

  • Have complex difficulties linked to personality traits
  • Want to make changes in their lives
  • Feel able to take part in group therapy

Many people who use our service have: 

  • Long standing relationship difficulties
  • Early experiences of trauma
  • Difficult early attachments
  • Strong and overwhelming emotions that are hard to manage

Not everyone using our service has a diagnosis of personality disorder. However, everyone will have personality traits that are:

  • Persistent - present most of the time
  • Pervasive - affecting many areas of life
  • Problematic - causing difficulties for themselves and others

What we do not provide 

  • We do not routinely offer CPA care coordination
  • We do not prescribe or manage medication
  • We do not diagnose personality disorder
  • We work closely with other services that do provide these forms of support.  

Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT)

We offer Mentalization Based Treatment, which is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Treatment usually includes: 

  • A 10 week introduction group (MBTi)
  • The option to continue into MBT group therapy for up to 1 year

We offer group therapy because research shows it is the most effective treatment for this group of people. Being in a group can help people build healthier relationships with others who have had similar experiences.

Men's MBT group

We also run an MBT group for men who may have more antisocial traits.

This programme includes:

  • A longer assessment period
  • Extra preparation before starting therapy

This helps people feel more able to take part in group therapy and work towards change. 

Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)

We also offer Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT).

InsPiRE group (ages 18-25)

The InsPiRE group is for people aged 18 to 25 who may benefit from early specialist support.

The programme includes:

  • 5 weekly individual sessions before the group starts
  • A 24 week group programme
  • Monthly one to one sessions with a named worker during the group

CAT helps people understand:

  • Problems affecting their wellbeing
  • How earlier life experiences and relationships have shaped these problems
  • Patterns of thinking, feeling and acting that no longer help

The aim is to support people to find new and healthier ways of coping and relating to others.

Individual CAT therapy

We offer a limited number of individual CAT sessions.

CAT is a short term therapy that combines ideas from cognitive therapies (such as CBT) and psychoanalytic therapy. It focuses on relationships, including how people relate to themselves and others, and how these patterns affect daily life. 

What is mentalization based treatment?

Mentalising means being able to:

  • Recognise and manage your own thoughts and feelings
  • Understand what other people may be thinking and feeling
  • See behaviour as meaningful, rather than random or threatening 

When someone struggles to mentalise, they may:

  • Find relationships difficult
  • Feel overwhelmed by strong emotions
  • Misunderstand other people's actions
  • Experience more conflict with others

MBT helps people to:

  • Better understand their own thoughts and feelings
  • Understand other people's perspectives
  • Reduce misunderstandings
  • Manage strong emotions more safely 

Where the service is offered

The service covers Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County.

MBT groups are offered in Nottingham City, Mansfield and Worksop

The InsPiRE (CAT) group and men's MBT group are offered in Nottingham City only 

Complex Personality Disorder Consultation

This is a weekly meeting for professionals from services such as:

  • Local Mental Health Teams
  • Mental Health Services for Older People
  • CAMHS
  • Inpatient services

The meeting allows teams to:

  • Discuss complex cases
  • Think together about care plans and treatment options
  • Get advice from specialist clinicians

It also helps the Trust oversee and develop the Personality Disorder care pathway.

Training

We offer training within Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

We also provide:

  • Bespoke training by request
  • One day training sessions for NHS, local authority, and third sector services

Please contact the Operational Team Leader for more information. 

Training

We offer training within Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. We also deliver bespoke training (please contact the Operational Team Leader to discuss this further) and one day training to a range of statutory/non-statutory/third sector services.

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