Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for a Parent of a Child with Pediatric Feeding Disorder: A Case Study

Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) is a common condition for young children and can cause stress among parents. However, there are no parent psychosocial interventions that have been tested for efficacy in this population. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) holds great promise for addressing parent stress among parents of children with PFD. In the present case report, we describe the application of ACT with a parent of a child with PFD, with a focus on parent and child outcomes and parent-reported implementation barriers and facilitators.

The mother of a young child with PFD completed 6 sessions of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, focused on the stress she was experiencing related to her child's feeding issues. Treatment was offered in the context of her child's PFD treatment setting, and sessions were held over telehealth.

This mother's stress improved from high to average over the course of treatment, using the parental stress scale. The majority of her improvements in stress were following the first 2 sessions. She also reported qualitative benefits related to her parenting, her child's feeding, and her general wellbeing. She reported several facilitators of treatment, including the flexibility offered throughout treatment the use of telehealth, and acknowledgement of her experiences. She reported barriers including mental health stigma, time constraints, and childcare.

Brief treatment of parental stress, offered in a pediatric treatment setting is feasible to implement and may have clinical utility in supporting families of children with PFD or other medical conditions.