Core Evidence
Consistent with a scientist-practitioner approach, studies of PCIT have sought to answer clinically-meaningful questions: How is PCIT helpful for parents and their children? Do the results generalize to untreated settings and children? How long do treatment benefits last? Can the model be adapted to help other families? Is PCIT appropriate for socially and culturally diverse families? Is PCIT cost-effective? A significant body of literature is now available to support that PCIT is an effective intervention for changing parenting skills and improving child behavior.
PCIT’s Recognition as an Evidence-based Practice
- Title IV- E Prevention Services Clearinghouse – Family First Prevention Services Act
- Closing the Quality Chasm in Child Abuse Treatment: Identifying and Disseminating Best Practices (Chadwick Center, 2004)
- The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (Empirically Supported Treatments and Promising Practices, supported by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2005)
- Child Physical and Sexual Abuse: Guidelines for Treatment (Saunders, Berliner, & Hanson, Eds., National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center and The Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress; Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice, 2004)
- Evidence-Based Treatment for Children and Adolescents (The Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, a division of the American Psychological Association, and the Network on Youth and Mental Health)
- Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General (Elliott, Hatot, & Sirovatka, Eds., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001)
- The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (2006)
For additional information and resources on PCIT, please see www.pcit.org