The ADHD Compassion Project Case Consultation with Dr. Karin Ensink: Using Reflective Functioning in the Treatment of a Gender Non-binary ADHD Child

ABSTRACT This paper documents a case consultation by Dr. Karin Ensink for the ADHD Compassion Project at Rutgers University using a psychodynamic, family-based, mentalization based treatment for children (MBT-C). Dr. Ensink serves as consultant on the case of a gender non-binary child with ADHD being treated at the clinic. Through this consultation, Dr. Ensink demonstrates the clinical utility of reflective functioning to a training clinician. By pairing the clinician’s conceptualization of the client with questions aimed to encourage reflective functioning she provides a path for the clinician to deepen the work with the child. The consultation highlights the importance in mentalization focused treatment of pinning down the episodic and using the therapeutic process to both join with the client and scaffold mentalization in real time.