Strengthening the Parent–Child Relationship in Therapy Laying the Foundation for Healthy Development

The most important thing a psychologist can do to foster a child’s well‑being is to help build a healthy, effective parent‑child relationship.
 
The relationship between a child and their primary caregiver(s) is the cornerstone of child development. Interactions in early childhood initiate a developmental cascade that impacts an individual's functioning throughout childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood.
 
This book integrates the basic and applied literature with the concrete, evidence‑based strategies and empirically-supported interventions mental health providers need to help build and strengthen the parent‑child relationship.
 
It has long been understood that the quality and effectiveness of the parent‑child relationship influences children's emotional, behavioral, and physical health. Today, studies increasingly demonstrate that the parent‑child bond influences the relation between socioeconomic status and child functioning, and that increasing parenting effectiveness can even decrease the negative impact of poverty on children's brain development.
 
With clinical case examples and lists of key takeaways and questions for clinicians to consider, this book provides the practical guidance mental health practitioners need when working with parents and young children.

Larissa Niec Davila, PhD, is Faculty in Clinical Psychology in the Psychology Department at Central Michigan University. She received her doctoral degree in clinical child psychology from Case Western Reserve University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship with a specialty in child maltreatment at the University of Oklahoma Health Services Center, Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Dr. Niec Davila is director of the Center for Children, Families and Communities and a parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) master trainer. Dr. Niec Davila's primary research goal is to increase access to evidence-based services for underserved children and families, with an emphasis on parenting interventions and prevention. She conducts PCIT training nationally and internationally. 

Part I: The Influence of the Parent-Child Relationship on Child Development
Chapter 1. When I Need You, You're Here: Initiation of the Parent-Child Relationship
Chapter 2. Keep the First Domino Standing: How Healthy Parenting Builds Healthy Children
Chapter 3. Risk and Disruption in the Parent-Child Relationship
Part II: Repairing & Strengthening the Parent-Child Relationship in Therapy
Chapter 4. Determining Treatment Targets and Monitoring Progress: The Importance of Assessment
Chapter 5. Fostering Responsive Parenting
Chapter 6. When Negative Emotion is a Positive Experience: Healthy Limit-Setting in the Parent-Child Relationship
Chapter 7. Relationship-Based Interventions for Parents and Young Children
Part III: Overcoming Barriers to Success
Chapter 8. Engaging Fathers in Treatment
Chapter 9. Difficult Cases, Therapist Burnout, and the Importance of Self-care
Chapter 10. Knocking Down Barriers to Effective Treatment: A Call for Advances and Culture Shifts