PCIT Therapy

What is PCIT?

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is a short-term, evidence-based, therapy for young children (ages 2.5 to 7 years old) who have been experiencing disruptive, attentional, and/or oppositional behaviors.

In PCIT, therapists coach parent(s), and/or caregiver(s), on how to use effective relationship and behavior management skills with their young child(ren).

PCIT is appropriate for:
biological parents
foster parents
adoptive parents
legal guardians
kinship caregivers
grandparents

Who benefits from PCIT?

Both caregivers and children benefit from PCIT. PCIT supports parents in managing children who display challenging behaviors
such as:

Temper tantrums
Loses temper easily
Purposeful annoyance of others
Intentional taking or breaking of others’ things
Not listening to adults
Difficulty playing with other children
Difficulty playing quietly
Difficulty staying seated
Hitting or kicking others

PCIT can also help children who are at risk of losing their daycare or school placements, as well as families that are involved with child protective services.

Why do PCIT?

PCIT is an exceptionally effective treatment backed by over 30 years of research. Live, real-time, coaching is a hallmark of PCIT.

Advantages of live coaching:

Skills are acquired more rapidly, as parents practice “in the moment” with therapist support.
Therapist provides immediate feedback to parents while observing the child’s behaviors.
Therapist provides caring support as parents gain confidence and master their skills.
Frequency of positive child behaviors increase, while negative behaviors decrease.

When to refer:

Child(ren) between 2 1/2 and 7 years of age that are struggling with challenging behaviors at home and/or in childcare and/or school settings
There is family concern about how to manage their child(ren)’s challenging behaviors
When families have experienced some disruption that is impacting the behavior of their child(ren)

This service is offered FREE of charge to qualifying families.
To refer yourself, or someone else, please submit this program referral form or call 828.698.0674 for more information.