Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT): Child Well-being Through an Effective Parenting Intervention

Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a family-centered therapeutic approach designed for families with children who are experiencing a broad range of behavioural, emotional and family problems. Proposed by Eyberg et al in 1995 it emphasizes on improving the quality of parent child interaction patterns and relationships. The goals of PCIT are to improve the quality of the parent-child relationship and, both child and family functioning; decrease the child behavior problems with an increase in prosocial behaviors; improve parenting skills, including positive discipline and reduce parenting stress. The characteristic feature of this approach is the use of live coaching and the treatment of both parent and child together. PCIT has rich theoretical background and it consists of two components: child directed interaction and parent directed interaction. Though it has certain contraindications and limitations, it is beneficial to manage several relationship problems and maladaptive behaviour of children and parents. Application of PCIT are also detailed in the article.