A relationship-based treatment model
Overview of child-parent psychotherapy
Child-parent psychotherapy in the treatment of violence-related trauma
Developmental considerations
The psychological sequelae of violence
Goals and mechanisms of treatment in recovery from traumatic experiences
Intervention modalities in child-parent psychotherapy
Promoting developmental progress through play, physical contact, and language
Offering unstructured reflective developmental guidance
Modeling appropriate protective behavior
Interpreting feelings and actions
Providing emotional support/empathic communication
Offering crisis intervention, case management, and concrete assistance with problems of living
What is unique about child-parent psychotherapy?
Ports of entry for the intervention: building from simplicity
Intervention and the child's developmental stage: using play, action, and language
Stages of the intervention
The intervention setting: office playroom or home visiting?
The role of cultural factors in the intervention
The importance of counter-transference reactions
Contra-indications to child-parent psychotherapy in violent situations
Unique and essential aspects of child-parent psychotherapy
Timing of specific intervention items
Domain II: child sensorimotor disorganization and disruption of biological rhythms
Domain III: child fearful behavior
Domain IV: child reckless, self-endangering, and accident-prone behavior
Domain V: child aggression toward a parent
Domain VI: child aggression towards peers, siblings, or others
Domain VII: parental use of physical punishment
Domain VIII: parental use of derogatory names, threats, or criticism of the child
Domain IX: relationship with the perpetrator/absent parent
Domain X: ghosts in the nursery: the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology
Domain XI: angels in the nursery: benevolent influences in the parent's past
Domain XII: saying good-bye: ending the session, terminating treatment
When possible child abuse occurs: reporting to Child Protective Services
When custody problems occur: working with the Family Court system
Items that are essential but not unique to child-parent psychotherapy
Items geared to building a safe and supportive therapeutic frame and daily environment
Items that focus on emotion, cognition, and action
Items that emphasize developmental progress
Items that are incompatible with child-parent psychotherapy.
