Parent–Child Interaction Therapy for a 3-Year-Old Girl With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Restoration to Her Father’s Care Following a Period in Out-of-Home Care

Abstract

Child abuse and neglect in very young children can lead to trauma-related stress symptoms that can be challenging to treat. Children exposed to multiple traumas occurring in the context of a caregiving relationship are sometimes more severely affected, evidenced by diverse negative behavioral, physical, social, and emotional consequences. Some of these children go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a dyadic play-based treatment for children with behavior problems and their parents or caregivers. There is limited research relating to the application of PCIT with very young children with PTSD with some studies actively excluding families where PTSD was present (Herschell et al., 2017). Additionally, there are no articles relating to treatment of a child restored to the care of a parent following out-of-home care (OOHC) and fewer still relating to a child restored to the care of her father. This case study illustrates the use of PCIT with a 3-year-old girl with PTSD, recently restored to her father’s care. It highlights how the use of PCIT in this case not only improved behavioral indicators of traumatic stress, but also afforded this child permanency and stability. The case study provides a summary of the progression of this intervention and the results obtained throughout treatment and 4 years post-intervention. The results indicated that PCIT, with trauma-informed tailoring, was an effective treatment in this case and contributed to safe and permanent care for this child.