Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, or PCIT as it is often referred to, is specialized
treatment program designed to treat young children with behavior problems, such
as defiance, aggression, or tantrums. PCIT involves working with parents and their
young children to learn more effective ways of positively interacting, improving child
compliance, and reducing disruptive behavior.
What separates PCIT from other forms of child treatment is the active coaching component. While other forms of treatment involve just talking about parenting techniques, in PCIT, parents practice these skills while receiving live, active coaching by their PCIT therapist.
PCIT is conducted into two phases. The first phase, Child-Directed Interactions, involves learning traditional play therapy skills designed to enhance the parent-child relationship improve child social skills, and encourage good behavior, while cultivating parent attention to be a powerful reward. The second phase, Parent-Directed Interactions, involves learning and practicing structured and effective techniques for disciplining child misbehavior. During this phase, parents learn how to give good commands, use time-out as a punishment, and enforcing standing house, rules.
PCIT is a short-term treatment, with some families requiring as few as 12 treatment sessions. Numerous research studies have shown strong evidence that PCIT is an effective and efficient treatment for children with disruptive behavior, with child behavior improvement remaining long after treatment has ended.
PCIT Clinicians at CUCARD
Dr. Matthew Goldfine specializes in providing PCIT to families of CUCARD. Dr. Goldfine trained under Dr. Cheryl McNeil, co-author of both editions of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, and has numerous years of experience in PCIT. He has published scholarly articles and book chapters about PCIT.
Dr. Anthony Puliafico trained at the NYU Child Study Center and just completed a study evaluating the adaptation of PCIT for children with anxiety.