Parent-Child Interaction Training (PCIT)

When younger children (5-9) have difficulty adjusting to new changes in their world, or their own body’s drive for attention or control, they may act out with emotions and behaviors (specifically ADHD, oppositional defiance, and anxiety). Since the parent is the closest link to their child’s developing mind, they are the best avenue for treatment.  In PCIT, therapists boost parents’ skills to reward their child’s appropriate behaviors while starving the maladaptive behaviors of attention, until they are extinguished and replaced.  Through weekly interactive coaching sessions and daily 5-minute, one-on-one at-home practice, parents improve their effectiveness and confidence while young children improve their ability to play, follow directions, and feel connected.