Interventional Use of the Parent–Child Interaction Assessment–II Enactments: Modifying an Abused Mother's Attributions to Her Son

Abstract

We describe the assessment and treatment of a mother who was a victim of domestic violence and of her 10-year-old son, both of whom were living in a domestic violence shelter. The Parent-Child Interaction Assessment-II Modifying Attributions of Parents intervention (PCIA-II/MAP; Bohr, 2005; Bohr et al., 2008; Bohr & Holigrocki, 2005) is a structured brief treatment using video recordings from a parent's play with his or her child. The play involves using toy people and animals to complete story stems related to a trip to the zoo (see Holigrocki, Kaminski, & Frieswyk, 1999, 2002). The therapist shows the parent video excerpts of the interaction, invites reflection and commentary, and collaborates with the parent to change how she makes sense of her child's behaviors. The pretreatment assessment revealed a depressed, fearful, highly stressed mother with a harsh parenting style. Her son experienced significant distress; had behavior problems; and viewed adults as harsh, fragile, irresponsible, and unavailable. Posttreatment gains were evident in the parent's reduced depression and greater parenting sensitivity; however, parenting stress and child behavior problems remained elevated. We emphasize the utility and application of a multimodal assessment that integrates rating scales, free response, and video-recorded interactions.

Effects of Video Feedback on Early Coercive Parent–Child Interactions: The Intervening Role of Caregivers’ Relational Schemas

“…A number of evidence-supported collaborative and therapeutic models of family assessment, similar to the FCU, routinely incorporate parent observation in the assessment procedures (see Tharinger et al, 2012). Results consistently demonstrate that parent observation techniques, whether in real time or using carefully selected video feedback procedures similar to those described in our study, alter caregivers’ attributions of the child’s behaviors, which has been theorized to be a mechanism of action (e.g., Holigrocki, Crain, Bohr, Young, & Bensman, 2009; Smith, Nicholas, Handler, & Nash, 2011; Tharinger et al, 2009). Finn (2007) observed that parents may interpret their children’s behaviors in a manner that fits their current schema or “story” about the child and fail to perceive information that does not fit.…”

An Updated Statement for the Clinical Case Applications Section: Suggestions for Clinical and Empirical Case Reports

“…These types of submissions could include descriptions of administration and scoring procedures, techniques specific to a particular type of assessment (e.g., forensic, biopsychosocial, collaborative/therapeutic), and broad techniques applicable to all personality assessment practice, such as conducting an effective initial interview and establishing a therapeutic alliance with clients. JPA has previously published case studies of parent-child interaction assessment (Holigrocki, Crain, Bohr, Young, & Bensman, 2009; Holigrocki & Raches, 2006), the personality assessment of Asberger’s and Nonverbal Learning Disorder (Yalof, 2006), short- and long-term changes on the Rorschach (Silverstein, 2007), personality assessment in healthcare settings (Quirk, Erdberg, Crosier, & Steinfeld, 2007), and forensic case studies of the MMPI-A (Pennuto & Archer, 2008). …”