Dr Peter Fuggle will give a public lecture at New Bulgarian University

On 28.10.2022 Dr. Peter Fugle from Anna Freud National Center for Children and Families in Great Britain will give a public lecture at NBU

Topic: Presentation of the Anna Freud Center and its therapeutic approaches based on the theory of mentalization. The AMBIT approach for children and youth with multiple needs and its application in Bulgaria.

Time: 15:00 - 17:00 h.; Place: New Bulgarian University, Auditorium and via Zoom connection. Registration is required for the event here: https://forms.gle/SnK83icQo5NJR2tB6

In 2021, the Know-How Center for Alternative Care for Children, NBU organized a one-year training in the AMBIT approach: Adaptive, mentalization-based integrated approach for professionals working with children and youth with complex needs. Through this approach, children and youth who see the world as hostile can learn that the people around them do not intend to attack, humiliate, or ignore them. This, in turn, can free them from the manifestation of aggressive behaviour or showing mistrust. AMBIT creates relationships around the child that are based on understanding/mentalizing their behavior. The approach includes not only those whose job description is to work with difficult cases - social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists. It includes everyone who has relations with the child - teachers, mediators, non-pedagogical staff: the people who are in the wider perimeter of relations with him.

AMBIT is an evidence-based approach and can be used in all systems that work with children and young people, building on rather than eliminating other approaches that already work. It is effective in managing the stress of professionals working with children and youth and has been adapted in 15 countries. Bulgaria became one of these countries. 30 specialists from 10 organizations working on the territory of the country underwent training. They created a Bulgarian community applying the approach that continues to teach the model to their colleagues and use it in their own practice under the supervision of the Anna Freud Center, respecting the international standards that the center has developed. Requests are made to this community for training of new teams and services, leading to the spread of the model on a national scale.

About the lecturer

Since 1984, Dr. Peter Fugle has worked as a clinical psychologist in services for children with a variety of pediatric needs, including disabilities and child mental illness. Between 1995-2014 he was Clinical Director of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Islington, London, where he developed a model of service delivered in schools and social services, while developing ways to support children who lack striving to help themselves. This experience gave him the basis for collaborating with Deacon Bevington in creating the AMBIT project – an adaptive, mindfulness-based approach to working with children and young people. Peter's current roles include Clinical Director at the Anna Freud National Center for Children and Familiesand leading the National CYP-IAPT Programme, within UCL (University College London), which aims to expand the use of evidence-based practice.