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Assessing the Key to Effective Coaching in Parent–Child Interaction Therapy: The Therapist-Parent Interaction Coding System

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Abstract

This paper describes the initial evaluation of the Therapist-Parent Interaction Coding System (TPICS), a measure of in vivo therapist coaching for the evidence-based behavioral parent training intervention, parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT). Sixty-one video-recorded treatment sessions were coded with the TPICS to investigate (1) the variety of coaching techniques PCIT therapists use in the early stage of treatment, (2) whether parent skill-level guides a therapist’s coaching style and frequency, and (3) whether coaching mediates changes in parents’ skill levels from one session to the next. Results found that the TPICS captured a range of coaching techniques, and that parent skill-level prior to coaching did relate to therapists’ use of in vivo feedback. Therapists’ responsive coaching (e.g., praise to parents) was a partial mediator of change in parenting behavior from one session to the next for specific child-centered parenting skills; whereas directive coaching (e.g., modeling) did not relate to change. The TPICS demonstrates promise as a measure of coaching during PCIT with good reliability scores and initial evidence of construct validity.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant to the second author from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH 070483). The authors acknowledge the research and clinical staff of the Center for Children, Families and Communities and Allyn E. Richards.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Children, Families and Communities, Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI, 48858, USA

    Miya L. Barnett, Larissa N. Niec & I. David Acevedo-Polakovich

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  1. Miya L. Barnett
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  2. Larissa N. Niec
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  3. I. David Acevedo-Polakovich
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Correspondence to Larissa N. Niec.

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Barnett, M.L., Niec, L.N. & Acevedo-Polakovich, I.D. Assessing the Key to Effective Coaching in Parent–Child Interaction Therapy: The Therapist-Parent Interaction Coding System. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 36, 211–223 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-013-9396-8

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