Efficacy of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy with the Use of In-Room Coaching

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) uses caregiver coaching behind a one-way mirror to teach caregivers behavioral skills to reduce disruptive child behaviors. The use of in-room coaching may be a viable alternative to traditional PCIT coaching, when traditional coaching is not feasible. A natural multiple-baseline across participants design with four parent-child pairs was used to examine the effects of PCIT using in-room coaching on child behavior and parent skills (i.e., verbalizations that reinforce appropriate behavior). Three out of four families showed a significant decrease in child oppositional behavior and improvement in parent skills, providing preliminary support for the efficacy of PCIT using in-room coaching.