Mentalizing the Body in Research and Clinical Practice: Parental Embodied Mentalizing Assessment (PEMA™)
This 5-day online training in Parental Embodied Mentalizing Assessment (PEMA™) is for professionals working with parents, infants, and young children. It equips participants to recognise embodied patterns in parent-infant interaction.
About this training
Our 5-day training is designed for professionals working with parents and infants, helping them integrate PEMA™ into their clinical practice. The PEMA™ Intensive Training Programme provides a comprehensive learning experience, focusing on identifying parent–infant embodied circles of communication and key elements of parent–infant interaction.
Through a mix of didactic teaching, experiential exercises, and video examples, participants will explore the nuances of nonverbal communication and its profound impact on child development.
The training consists of five half-day sessions, delivered online via Zoom, with joining links sent to participants in advance. Daily homework is a core part of the programme and forms the basis for the following day’s discussions. Participants should set aside at least three hours each day after training to complete these tasks.
This course typically runs once a year in January.
Aims of this training
To introduce the theory and research behind Parental Embodied Mentalizing (PEM) from its developer, Dr. Dana Shai.
To explore and identify the theory and movement language underlying PEM.
To learn step-by-step processes to identify risk and protective factors in parent-child dyads.
To fulfil prerequisite requirements for Reflective Practice and PEMA™ Certification.
Who is this training for?
This training is suitable for professionals working with young children and their families including, but not limited to:
Psychologists
Psychotherapists
Social workers
Marriage and family therapists
Mental health counsellors
Outreach workers
Interested in commissioning training for your team?
Enquire about commissioned training-
"The facilitators were fabulous - knowledgeable, kind, unhurried, personable - and really made the training as brilliant as it was." Participant, 2025
"I liked the content and the pacing of the training – it felt accessible and engaging." Participant, 2025
"The material was fascinating, and I so appreciated the ways in which Dana and Rose moved back and forth between clinical and research applications. That was tremendously helpful. I thought the training was wonderful and so well done. I learned a great deal, and I feel invigorated in my work. Both Dana and Rose have such a lovely way of presenting-- very warm and welcoming, excellent examples, thoughtful responses, clear content, good pacing - very well organized and orchestrated. Thank you!" Participant, 2024
"I have done many trainings throughout my career, but this one was special! It's almost hard to put it into words, but I found it a wonderfully enriching experience. The pace of the training was just perfect and there was a great mix of theory and practice. I am looking forward to moving on to the next phase of my PEMA journey and to begin to use this approach with families." Participant, 2024
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Dr Dana Shai
Dr Rose Spencer
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Before starting this training, you must complete the self-guided online training “An Introduction to Mentalizing and Mentalization Based Treatments with Children, Young People and Families” (MBT CYP). You can book onto this self-guided online training here.
You will then be given access to the MBT CYP training one month before the start date of your PEMA training. MBT CYP is a self-directed online training course and consists of a series of short videos, presentations and activities that span six hours and can be worked through at your own pace. It is essential that you complete this training to get the most out of the PEMA training you are scheduled to attend. If you require access to the training sooner than one month prior to the training start date, please let us know and we will be able to grant you access.
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After completing the online Introduction to MBT CYP training and the PEMA Intensive Training, you will have a sound understanding of mentalizing theory and its clinical application with parent-infant dyads.
You will have developed a range of observational skills in identifying non-verbal risk and protective factors and non-verbal communication between parents and their infants. You will have started to practice how you can use PEMA clinically, using the MBT stance and therapeutic approach. To become certified in using PEMA for clinical or research purposes it is essential to complete inter-rater reliability.
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For attendees wishing to use PEMA for research and not clinical purposes, to receive PEMA certification, attendees are required to complete the Reliability Test, which includes the additional coding of up to 5 practice and 10 standardised pre-coded videos of parent-infant interactions. On successful completion of the Reliability Test you will be authorised to use the PEMA research purposes only.
To use the PEMA reliably in clinical practice, it is necessary to complete an 8-week reflective practice group process. Attendees will meet for 8 x 90-minute group video reflective practice sessions, exploring the application of PEMA with pre-coded (standardised) training video samples. One tape needs to be coded per week in preparation for the reflective practice meeting. Additionally, attendees will employ PEMA with videotaped parent-infant interactions from their own concurrent clinical practice for group reflection.
For more information, please visit this page.
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For attendees wishing to use PEMA for research, and not clinical purposes, in order to receive PEMA certification, attendees are required to complete the Reliability Test, which includes the additional coding of up to 5 practice and 10 standardised pre-coded videos of parent-infant interactions. Those who choose to do the PEMA reliability for research purposes will be sent links to access the videos. On successful completion of the Reliability Test you will be authorised to use the PEMA research purposes only.
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For those wishing to use PEMA in clinical practice, after completing PEMA Reflective Practice and achieving reliability, ongoing support and supervision will be important. This will help you to continue to develop your skills in implementing PEMA and support your ability to hold a mentalizing stance in working parents and their infants.
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The online platform Zoom will be used to deliver this training. Prior to booking on, please ensure you meet the system requirements so you're able to join this training. Before the training, please test your equipment is working by going to Zoom.us/test and follow the instructions.
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Online fees:
Online training fee if already completed prerequisite MBT-CYP Introduction and without reliability for research purposes: £875
Online training fee with prerequisite MBT-CYP Introduction without reliability for research purposes: £975
Online training fee with reliability for research purposes without prerequisite MBT-CYP Introduction: £1,000
Online training fee with reliability and prerequisite MBT CYP Introduction: £1,100
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This training can be delivered live online or face-to-face. Dates and times will vary according to format so please carefully check the dates and times for individual courses before booking.
Before signing up for a live online training, be sure to check the system requirements. Please follow this link to view our upcoming trainings.
If you’d like to commission this training for your team or organisation please complete our Commissioner Enquiry Form.
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Upon booking, you will be asked to confirm that you have read and accept our terms and conditions and our privacy notice. Please read these documents before booking:
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