Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: An Intensive Dyadic Intervention for Physically Abusive Families

Abstract
A designated priority in the field of child maltreatment is the development of empirical approaches for treating abusive families. This article describes parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), an intervention that has been shown to be effective for helping parents manage young children with severe behavioral problems. The potential application of this treatment program to the child maltreatment field is examined by (a) providing a social learning perspective to explain the development and stability of some physically abusive parent-child relationships, (b) outlining the effectiveness of PCIT with similar populations, and (c) discussing the unique benefits that PCIT may offer the field of child maltreatment. The limitations of PCIT with physically abusive families are also discussed.