A Statewide Randomized Controlled Trial to Compare Three Models for Implementing Parent Child Interaction Therapy.

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an evidence-based treatment requiring effective implementation strategies.
• Training models significantly impact the successful adoption and effectiveness of established therapeutic interventions in community settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of three distinct training models—Learning Collaborative (LC), Cascading Model (CM), and Distance Education (DE)—for implementing PCIT.
• To compare clinician and supervisor outcomes across different training modalities.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 100 clinicians, 50 supervisors, and 50 administrators across 50 outpatient clinics.
• Data collection at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 months using multi-level hierarchical linear growth modeling.

Main Results:

• Clinicians in the CM reported higher completion rates, satisfaction, and learning experiences.
• Supervisors in the LC demonstrated superior learning experiences, knowledge, and satisfaction.
• The DE model yielded comparable outcomes to LC and CM in PCIT utilization and satisfaction, despite not outperforming others on all metrics.

Conclusions:

• Training design critically influences the implementation of PCIT, with variations in effectiveness across different models.
• While in-person training (LC, CM) may yield stronger clinician and supervisor outcomes, Distance Education (DE) offers a viable alternative with comparable results on key implementation variables.
• The findings underscore that a one-size-fits-all training approach is insufficient, advocating for tailored strategies based on specific implementation goals and contexts.