"Parent Whispering” – a New Zealand clinical trial of parent-child interaction therapy with vulnerable mothers and their infants

Abstract

Parent Whispering” – a New Zealand clinical trial of parent-child interaction therapy with vulnerable mothers and their infants. Tania Cargo (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Manu, Ngāpuhi). Senior Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland. I will introduce you to “parent whispering” the art of supporting hard to reach whānau so that they can fall in love with their children again, through the intervention called Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). PCIT is an empirically supported treatment for families of children aged 2 to 7, originally designed for children with severe behaviour problems, PCIT now has evidence to show it can be used effectively for a range of other difficulties including; language impairment, family violence, Autism, mood disorder and child maltreatment. While PCIT has been delivered around the world, any intervention being brought into Aotearoa, which targets “vulnerable families”, must at least get a “pass mark” from Māori. In this presentation you will hear from Māori mothers about their experiences of PCIT and you will see the first results from my Clinical Trial of 40 vulnerable parents and their children. You will be the judge as to whether PCIT gets a “pass mark” or not.