1949 1/2 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
For children 2-7 years old

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an evidence-based treatment for young children ages 2-7 who exhibit emotional and behavioral problems. Developed by Dr. Sheila Eyberg, PCIT focuses on improving the quality of the parent-child relationship and changing parent-child interaction patterns. Parents are taught specific skills to establish a nurturing and secure relationship with their child while increasing their child’s prosocial behavior and decreasing negative behavior.

With over 15 years of research supporting its effectiveness, PCIT is unique because it involves direct coaching of parent(s) with his/her child. Not only do disruptive behaviors decrease, but caregivers also report reductions in parenting stress and feelings of depression after completing PCIT. Behavior improvement has been found to generalize from the home to school settings and to untreated siblings. Moreover, some forms of childhood anxiety (e.g., separation anxiety disorder) can be reduced with PCIT. Most impressively, the effect size for PCIT’s reduction in behavioral problems is almost double the effect size of stimulant medication for ADHD behaviors.

Curriculum

In PCIT, two basic interactions are worked on until mastery. In the Child Directed Interaction (CDI) phase of PCIT, parents use specific skills to engage their child in a play situation with the goal of strengthening the parent-child relationship. CDI is similar to play therapy and parents interact with their child in a daily 5-minute play period called special time. In the Parent Directed Interaction (PDI) phase of PCIT, parents learn to use specific behavior management techniques, including time out procedures. PDI aims to teach the parents more effective means of disciplining their child.

Is PCIT right for me? To find out, click here.