When Teachers Mentalize: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Teacher Responses to Disruptive Classroom Behaviour

Background: Disruptive classroom behaviour remains a persistent challenge for teachers, peers, and students alike. Mentalization-based interventions (MBIs) have shown promise in addressing such behaviour, yet research has predominantly focused on student-centred or school-wide approaches, leaving teacher-centred applications underexplored. Aims: This study investigated (1) whether teachers' use of MBIs during incidents of disruptive behaviour was associated with incident resolution, and whether this varied by severity, and (2) how MBIs were enacted in naturalistic classroom settings. Methods: Interactions between students and teachers were observed across two classrooms in a London-based alternative provision school, yielding 259 documented incidents of disruptive behaviour and 815 coded teacher-student interaction sequences-the primary unit of analysis. Teacher responses were coded for six predefined MBIs (including Mentalization; shifting focus to underlying mental states, and Playing with reality; encouraging flexible perspectives through humour or playfulness), using a validated scheme with high inter-rater agreement across all coding dimensions (Cohen's κ > 0.75). Incident outcomes (resolved vs. unresolved) served as the dependent variable, with severity as a moderator. Thematic analysis of classroom dialogue characterised how MBIs were enacted in practice. Results: Several MBIs were associated with a significantly higher likelihood of incident resolution, while others were less effective. Only one intervention pairing-the simultaneous use of Mentalization and Playing with reality-showed a tentative synergistic association which should be treated as exploratory. Robust additive effects were observed across incident severity. Qualitative analyses highlighted how MBIs were delivered, including differences in tone, style, and strategy. Conclusions: In this naturalistic observational study, teachers' use of MBIs was associated with the resolution of disruptive behaviour in classrooms. These findings extend understanding of how MBT principles can be translated into educational contexts and provide preliminary evidence to inform future research on teacher-centred MBIs, which will require controlled designs before programme development.