Interventional use of the parent-child interaction assessment-II enactments: modifying an abused mother's attributions to her son.

We describe the assessment and treatment of a mother who was a victim of domestic violence and of her 10-year-old son, both of whom were living in a domestic violence shelter. The Parent-Child Interaction Assessment-II Modifying Attributions of Parents intervention (PCIA-II/MAP; Bohr, 2005; Bohr et al., 2008; Bohr & Holigrocki, 2005) is a structured brief treatment using video recordings from a parent's play with his or her child. The play involves using toy people and animals to complete story stems related to a trip to the zoo (see Holigrocki, Kaminski, & Frieswyk, 1999, 2002). The therapist shows the parent video excerpts of the interaction, invites reflection and commentary, and collaborates with the parent to change how she makes sense of her child's behaviors. The pretreatment assessment revealed a depressed, fearful, highly stressed mother with a harsh parenting style. Her son experienced significant distress; had behavior problems; and viewed adults as harsh, fragile, irresponsible, and unavailable. Posttreatment gains were evident in the parent's reduced depression and greater parenting sensitivity; however, parenting stress and child behavior problems remained elevated. We emphasize the utility and application of a multimodal assessment that integrates rating scales, free response, and video-recorded interactions.