Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: A Guide for Clinicians

Abstract

This article focuses on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a treatment program for young children with conduct problem behavior and their families. In Part One, PCIT is presented as an interactional approach to parent training and discussed in the context of other behavioral parent training programs. In Part Two, PCIT is described and empirical support for the program's effectiveness is presented. Given the importance of adapting programs to meet the needs of individual families and demonstrating treatment efficacy, Part Three is devoted to the presentation of strategies for modifying PCIT and measuring treatment outcome.

‘Too busy’? Father's attendance for family appointments

“…Hecker's (1991) suggestions for encouraging and engaging fathers include clarity of expectance of fathers' involvement from the outset, normalizing the lack of enthusiasm for family therapy on the part of the father, and extolling the father's capabilities as an expert with regard to his children. Foote et al (1998), reporting on a training programme for parents with young children, claim that some fathers feel they have little to contribute, and doubt their own value in the therapeutic process. These workers therefore engage the father by gaining his perspective of the child's problem.…”

Predicting Treatment Response for Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder Using Pre-Treatment Adrenal and Gonadal Hormones

“…Psychological treatments for ODD and CD, including cognitive-behavior therapy (Kazdin, Siegel, & Bass, 1992), parent-training (Foote, Schuhmann, Jones, & Eyberg, 1998; Webster-Stratton, Hibbs, & Jensen, 2005), and family therapy (Henggeler, Schoenwald, Borduin, Rowland, & Cunningham, 1998; Sexton, Alexander, & Lebow, 2005) provide considerable benefit to children, adolescents, and their families. Meta-analyses on the short-term effects of these treatments report mean effect sizes ranging from .34 – .86 (Kaminski, Valle, Filene, & Boyle, 2008; McCart, Priester, Davies, & Azen, 2006; Serketich & Dumas, 1996; Weisz, Weiss, Han, Granger, & Morton, 1995).…”

A Pilot Study of the Feasibility and Efficacy of the Strategies to Enhance Positive Parenting (STEPP) Program for Single Mothers of Children With ADHD

“…Subsequently, single mothers would implement the parenting skills with their child in the social skills group with feedback provided by the therapist and other members of the parent's subgroup when the interaction is completed. This form of skill acquisition is similar to that implemented in individually based BPT for young children with oppositional and conduct problems (e.g., Foote, Schuhmann, Jones, & Eyberg, 1998). Finally, given the feedback regarding the difficulty in developing and implementing an incentive system at home, a within treatment incentive system was developed that focused on children earning incentives based on meeting both within-session and weekly, home-based behavioral goals.…”