Are your child's emotions or impulses out of control?
Big Emotions?
She melts down in stores or at mealtimes when she can’t have what she wants.
Disruptive or Challenging Behaviors?
He becomes frustrated easily and you don’t know how to respond.
Difficulty Responding
to Directions?
They have difficulty cooperating and nothing seems to work.
Or maybe your child is
anxious or worries?
Or maybe your child is afraid to try new things.
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) may be the solution for your family.
Over 40 years of research and 100’s of studies have shown that in as little as 14 sessions, PCIT can radically transform disruptive behaviors in children ages 1-10 and restore a sense of calm and joy to parents in their every day interactions with their children. In one study, PCIT was shown to be more effective for treating disruptive behaviors than play therapy and even stimulant medication.
Attend our FREE Parent Support Workshops
While these workshops do not provide therapy, they do teach families the principles of PCIT in a educational format with other families who understand the ups and downs of raising with big emotions and challenging behaviors.
“Every parent
- or people who work with parents and families -
should attend this event!”
Michelle, Beaumont, CA
“The presenters were extremely knowledgeable
and it was a great opportunity
to get unique questions answered by experts.”
Edyth, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
“Without a doubt, it was life changing!”
Paula, Mentone, CA
Adoptive/foster families can especially benefit! All our services are LGBT+ Affirmative.
View our Current Workshop Schedule
Register below to receive notification when the next workshop registration is open!
Frequently asked questions:
Why Parent Support Workshops?
Many parents feel isolated when their child is exhibiting difficult to manage behaviors. They are nervous taking their child to the store or embarrassed and frustrated during social events. It becomes especially frustrating when people who are not in your situation offer unsolicited advice. You are NOT the only one experiencing this struggle and it is very helpful to be in a supportive group of parents who “get it” and won’t judge you based on your child’s current behavior.
Are all workshops really free?
Yes! We are a 501c3 non-profit organization and our mission is to provide resources and support for parents, regardless of their ability to pay. We know how impactful the principles of PCIT is and want to ensure that every parent can access this resource. Currently, we are supported by donations and also plan to offer paid online trainings in the future to help fund our free resources.
What if I prefer weekly therapy?
We are happy to offer referrals to certified PCIT clinicians in your area. Click here to contact us so we can follow up with referrals specific to your needs.
Learn more about PCIT:
What is PCIT?
PCIT stands for Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. It is a family therapy that as been researched through UC Davis Children’s Hospital and is specifically focused on transforming disruptive behaviors in children ages 1-12. PCIT equips parents with specialized bonding and behavior management skills to help parents bring peace and warmth back to their homes and to their everyday interactions with their children again.
Why PCIT?
PCIT offers practical tools and strategies that you can use right away and has been shown by 100’s of studies and over 40 years of research to be one of the most effective treatments available for treating child disruptive behaviors.
In one study, PCIT was even shown to be more effective than play therapy and even stimulant medication (see graph below).
And the transformation can be rapid; treatment can be completed in as little as 14 weeks.
Certified PCIT therapists must receive special training in addition to their clinical therapy license, so you can trust that you’re working with a parenting and child behavior expert.
How is PCIT different from other forms of therapy?
PCIT is a coaching model in which the therapist walks with you through every intervention with your child in the office before you practice on your own at home.
Traditional forms of therapy focus on past hurts or trauma. But not all children’s behaviors arise because of these issues. PCIT can treat disruptive behaviors that arise out of ADHD, anxiety and even just strong willed personalities.
And for those children who have had difficult life experiences, PCIT is often the first step in treatment before the child is able to calmly participate in other forms of treatment to address past trauma, grief, or other major life changes.
The PC-Care Parenting Protocol
We also provide referral to therapists who provide the PC-Care Parenting Protocol, one of the newest protocols to evolve out of PCIT that was developed at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
PC-Care can address big emotions and challenging behaviors in children ages 1-12 that arise from many causes including the following:
Child anxiety,
Strong willed personality,
Social emotional delay,
Sensitive temperament,
Infant and toddler development,
Behavioral and academic struggles from ADHD,
Autism and intellectual disability,
Moving homes or birth of a sibling,
Stressful or traumatic event,
History of medical issues with a lingering behavioral pattern - just to name a few.
PC-CARE replaces the timeout strategy of PCIT with more than 20 strategies for behavior management and emotional regulation. And a recent study showed PC-CARE to have a greater rate of improvement than standard PCIT over a comparable time period.
This cutting edge protocol has specialized sub-protocols for infants and toddlers as young as 12 months, for children with autism or intellectual disability, and our director has developed sub-procotols for addressing anxiety, ADHD, ARFID, selective mutism, potty training, sleep challenges, and chronic pain with PC-Care.
And since PC-CARE can be completed in 6 treatment sessions, this brief protocol may be the more effective and more affordable option for many families. Complete a referral form and we can send you a list of certified therapists near you.
Does Mending Hearts offer PCIT?
We currently provide positive parenting principles of PCIT & PC-CARE and teach them to parents. These workshops also provide mutual support from other parents who understand what it is like to raise strong willed children. Our expansion plan includes free Family & Parent Coaching for low income families and children in foster care in our PC-Care Training and Certification Program.
Until then, we will help you find the closest certified PCIT & PC-CARE therapist to you. Click here to find out about our referral services.