Parent Child Interaction Therapy
Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an evidence based treatment for children
ages 2 to 7 and their caregivers, focused on decreasing externalized behaviors (tantrums, defiance, aggression, refusing to listen and follow directions), increasing social skills and compliance while improving the parent-child relationship. Children who participate in PCIT develop higher self-esteem, communication skills and cooperation, and caregivers learn consistent parenting techniques to gain confidence in dealing with behavioral struggles.
PCIT is conducted through "coaching" sessions during which the caregiver and child are in a playroom while the therapist is in an observation room watching interactions through a one-way mirror. The caregiver wears a "bug-in-the-ear" device through which the therapist provides in-the-moment coaching on skills the caregiver is learning to manage the child's behavior. Treatment protocol recommends weekly therapy sessions to ensure caregiver mastery of skills, improvement of child’s behavior and relationship enhancement.
For more information check out PCIT International at www.pcit.org
Family Therapy
Family Therapy strengthens the family system and rebuilds relationships. Family Therapy uses principles from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Emotion-Focused Family Therapy and Family Systems Therapy to identify patterns that impact the functioning of the entire family system. It explores how individual behaviors, emotions and responses contribute to the entire family unit. The goal is to help families improve their communication and ability to problem solve in order to improve overall functioning in the home environment. Family Therapy is flexible in that it can include all members of the family or part of the family (for example, parents-only) to target specific issues.
SPACE
Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions
SPACE is a parent-based treatment program for children and adolescents with anxiety, OCD, and related problems. SPACE was developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz at the Yale Child Study Center and has been tested and found to be efficacious in randomized controlled clinical trials.
SPACE aims to treat children and adolescents with anxiety disorders including separation anxiety, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, fears and phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder. Although children are the targets of treatment, they don’t have to attend SPACE sessions! Parents (and sometimes other caregivers) are the participants, which can be an advantage for families where the child won’t engage in treatment or are less motivated to change their behavior.
Rather than a focus on changing the child’s behavior, SPACE treatment targets changes that parents can make to their own behavior. Helping parents to respond more supportively to their anxious child and reduce accommodations they have been making to the child symptoms, helps decrease the cycle of anxiety and increase independent and healthy coping patterns.
To read more about space, visit the website https://www.spacetreatment.net/
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