Parental mind-mindedness in applied clinical practice: applications in psychology services and foster care
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Date
2026-04-28
Authors
O'Connor, Nicole
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Publisher
University College Cork
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Abstract
Mind-mindedness, a caregiver’s propensity to treat their child as an individual with their own mental states, has a growing evidence base in developmental psychology, linking it to attachment security and a range of child outcomes. However, little is known about how it is applied by practitioners in their work with parents and children, or about the factors that shape it in more complex caregiving contexts such as foster care. This thesis attempted to address these gaps through two empirical studies.
The first study explored practitioner psychologists’ awareness, understanding and application of parental mind-mindedness in child and family services in Ireland (N=61), using an online survey analysed through a mix of descriptive statistics, Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA), and Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA). Only 7% of participants spontaneously identified it as a construct they are aware of, and only 5% reported using it explicitly in their practice. Practitioners drew extensively on closely related attachment and mentalisation-based approaches, often using these interchangeably with mind-mindedness, reflecting considerable conceptual confusion in practice between these related constructs. Results are discussed with reference to implications for future research and practice.The second study examined factors associated with mind-mindedness among foster carers (N=67), including placement characteristics, parenting stress and reasons for fostering. Placement factors were the strongest predictors of mind-mindedness, with fostering alone, older child age, and longer placements associated with lower mind-mindedness. Needs-based motivations were associated with more negative mind-mindedness, while family/relational reasons were associated with lower levels of negative mind-mindedness. Results are discussed with regard to ways to support relationships between foster carers and children in their care.
Together, these findings contribute to understanding how mind-mindedness is reflected in applied contexts and help to inform future research examining its potential role in clinical practice and high-risk caregiving contexts.
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Keywords
Parental mind-mindedness , Clinical practice , Mentalisation , Implementation , Practitioner psychologists , Parental reflective functioning (PRF) , Foster care , Parenting stress , Reasons for fostering , Children-in-care , Placement
Citation
O'Connor, N. 2026. Parental mind-mindedness in applied clinical practice: applications in psychology services and foster care. DClinPsych Thesis, University College Cork.