Transcript Document

Family Interaction Program:
Parent-Child Interaction
Therapy
PCIT Team
Director
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Dr Melanie Zimmer-Gembeck
Co-ordinator
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Rae Thomas
Team Members
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Angela Anthonysamy
Michelle Hanisch
Kate McCarthy
Mark Scholes
Anne Stuksrud
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
Who is it For?
 Children with externalsing behaviours
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Aggression
Noncompliance
Tantruming
Opposition
Developed for caregivers with high stress, low
frustration tolerance, and who use inappropriate
discipline strategies
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Biological parents
Grandparents
Foster carers
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
What Happens?
 Use of one-way mirror
 In-vivo coaching
 Two phases (not time limited)
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Relationship Enhancement Phase
Discipline Phase
Research based
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Collection of data: questionnaires and videoed interactions
Treatment vs. supported waitlist
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
Who Refers?
 Department of Child Safety: Mermaid and Beenleigh
Offices
 Pediatricians
 Psychiatrists (of both parents and children)
 Psychologists
 Local schools
 Self referrals  word of mouth from other families
Goals of PCIT
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Strengthen parent-child relationship
Education regarding effective behaviour management
Increase positive interactions
Increase positive communications
Alter perceptions of child behaviour
Make PCIT skills habitual
Make PCIT skills generalisable
Relationship Enhancement Phase
Goal
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Enhance the quality of the parent-child interaction
by creating or strengthening a positive parent-child
relationship
Relationship Enhancement Phase
Specific Skills
Praise the child
Reflect the child’s statements
Imitate the child’s play
Describe the child’s behaviour
Enthusiastic play
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Ignore inappropriate behaviour (unless dangerous or
destructive)
Avoid asking questions, giving commands and
criticising
Relationship Enhancement Phase
“The Shift”
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Comments and an understanding from the caregiver
that it is how they behave and interact with their child
that will promote behaviour change
Becomes less mechanistic
Discipline Phase
Goal
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Decrease inappropriate behaviours too harmful to
be ignored by learning to direct the child’s behaviour
when necessary using effective commands and
specific consequences for noncompliance
Discipline Phase
Specific Skills
Be specific with commands
Every command stated positively
Developmentally appropriate
Individual rather than compound
Respectful and polite
Essential commands only
Choices when appropriate
Tone of voice neutral
Outside of the PCIT Program
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Intensive work for both therapists and families
Individual sessions offered
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Crisis counselling
Depression counselling
Anger management issues
Domestic violence assistance
Follow up with families outside of “therapy time”
Liaise with government and non-government agencies
for additional support for families
Preliminary Outcomes
200
180
160
140
120
100
pre assessment
80
post assessment
60
40
20
0
externalising
behaviour
parental
stress
parental
child abuse
depression
potential
Preliminary Outcomes
Percentage Change - Treatment vs Waitlist
% Change (Pre to Post Assessment)
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-25
-30
-35
-40
Treatment
Waitlist
externalising
behaviour
parental stress
parental
depression
Assessment Measure
child abuse
potential
Qualitative Interviews
“I’m not frightened to go out places anymore…that
terrified me…he’d be gone and you’d be running
around pulling your hair out. I can leave my knives out
in the kitchen or in the drawer…he doesn’t pick them
up anymore, he doesn’t touch them…he seems happier,
he doesn’t seem to be so moody.”
“We had a very stressful family life before coming to this
program, it has helped me manage R’s behaviour in a
positive way rather than smacking and yelling and
screaming at each other.”
Contact Details
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
School of Applied Psychology
Griffith University
(07) 55 529 105