Parent-Child Interaction Training:A Psychoeducational Modification of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

Many parents use corporal punishment to discipline their children, though legal trends are toward the prohibition of corporal punishment. When spanking is disallowed, parents become uncertain about how to discipline. The goal of this project was to develop an effective parent training curriculum based on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), for psychoeducational use in a group context. The purpose of the curriculum is to reduce the use of corporal punishment and authoritarian parenting styles by training parents in the use of the empirically validated skills taught through PCIT. The curriculum is comprised of eight 2-hour lessons. Parents learn concepts and skills through a series of steps, including didactic lessons, group activities, interactive exercises which include elements of role-play and skill coaching, homework assignments, and discussion. The first five lessons address the concepts and skills related to Child-Directed Interaction, teaching parents to use the PRIDE skills during play: Praise, Reflection, Imitation, Description, and Enthusiasm. The latter 3 lessons integrate concepts and skills related to Parent-Directed Interaction, including the proper use of time-out as a discipline strategy, and the establishment of rules. Each session typically ends with a homework assignment, which is reviewed and discussed at the beginning of the next lesson, offering parents a further opportunity for role-play-based skill coaching as needed