More About Combined Parent-Child Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Families that Physically Abuse

(CPC-CBT) The main article contains a general description of CPC-CBT. This information supplements what could be included in the printed issue of Volume 95. Research Support Dr. Melissa Runyon and her colleague, Dr. Esther Deblinger, developed CPC-CBT through a series of research studies. An initial pilot study was conducted to address the feasibility of a 16-week CBT group approach that incorporated the child into the parents’ therapy (Runyon, Deblinger, & Schroeder, 2009). The group format was chosen because of a belief that guarded populations (such as parents who physically abuse) may benefit more from suggestions and interactions with peers rather than from input from the therapist alone. In a pilot study with 12 parents and 21 children, both parents and children reported pre to post treatment improvements after their participation in CPC-CBT. Specifically, parents and children reported reductions in the use of physical punishment, and improvements in parental anger towards their children, more consistent parenting, as well as improvement in children’s PTSD symptoms and behavioral problems (Runyon et al., 2009). Dr. Runyon notes that in the first controlled trial, the attrition rate was only 12% if families attended the first three sessions with the primary focus of these sessions being engagement. While pilot data indicated positive changers, there was no follow-up, so it is unclear if the positive changes at the end of the 16-week treatment were maintained over time. These pilot data suggested the potential value and feasibility of having the child and the parent who engages in abusive or punitive behavior participate in sessions together and directly discuss the abusive experiences while learning effective communication and coping skills individually and together. In a 2010 study, Runyon, Deblinger, and Steer compared the relative efficacy of CPC-CBT (24 parents, 34 children) to Parent-only CBT (20 parents, 26 children). Children were assessed on emotional