Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
Overview
Focus
Specific Skills
- Decrease negative child behavior
- Increase positive child behavior
- Building teacher and parent skills
Program Length
Varies by clinician.
Program Description
"PCIT is conducted through "coaching" sessions during which you and your child are in a playroom while the therapist is in an observation room watching you interact with your child through a one-way mirror and/or live video feed. You wear a "bug-in-the-ear" device through which the therapist provides in-the-moment coaching on skills you are learning to manage your child's behavior."
Visit Program WebsiteCost
Unspecified; clinician-dependent
Demographics & Delivery
Intended Population
- Intensified intervention
Grade
- Pre-K
- Elementary School
- Middle School
Intended Group Size
- Individual
ELL/DLL
- Partial
Multisensory Applications
- Unspecified
Computer-Based Delivery
- None
Scripted
- Instructor Scripted
Program Specifics
Comprehensive or Skill Specific
- Skill Specific
Placement Tests
- No
Accelerated Learning
- No
Assessment to Monitor Skills Mastery
- No
Error Correction Built In
- No
Fidelity Measures Provided by Publisher
- Unspecified
Research & Evaluation
Research Summary
NeMTSS literature review revealed multiple studies involving an array of children with behavioral problems and developmental disabilities that found statistically significant improvements in problem behaviors and parenting skills for groups receiving PCIT compared to controls.
Study Citations
"Bjørseth Å, WichstrømL (2016) Effectiveness of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) in the Treatment of Young Children’s Behavior Problems. A Randomized ControlledStudy. PLoS ONE 11(9): e0159845. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0159845"
McNeil, C. B., Eyberg, S., Eisenstadt, T. H., Newcomb, K., & Funderburk, B. (1991). Parent-Child Interaction Therapy with behavior problem children: Generalization of treatment effects to the school setting. Journal of Clnical Child Psychology, 20(2), 140-151.
Scudder, A., Wong, C., Ober, N., Hoffman, M., Toscolani, J., & Handen, B. L. (2019). Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) in young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 41(4), 201-220.
Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)
- Evidence-based practice