For Pediatricians

Thank you for visiting eCounseling Connection! We value your time and your commitment to the children in your care. PCIT is a highly effective treatment for children with emotional regulation and behavior problems ages 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6-years-old. We also offer PCIT-ASD and PCIT - CALM, a specialized evidence-based adaptation of PCIT for kids with anxiety. For children engaging in cruel and vindictive behaviors who struggle with emotional literacy and empathy, we offer and evidence-based enhanced PCIT protocol called, PCIT-CU.

eCounseling Connection is committed to increasing access to specialized clinical mental healthcare for children through:

HIPAA secure telehealth video appointments in the convenience of patients' homes
Evening and Saturday appointments, so busy families can realistically make it to weekly sessions
Contracting with several major insurance providers to increase affordability of care
Offering a sliding scale to clients paying out of pocket

These Professional Organizations Support PCIT as an Evidence-based

The American Academy of Pediatrics listed PCIT as a recommended intervention for preschoolers with emotional, relationship, and behavior problems
The Center for Disease Control recommends behavior therapy for young children (under the age of 6) with ADHD prior to a trial of ADHD medication and includes PCIT in the list of recommended behavior therapies.
The National Childhood Traumatic Stress Network has endorsed PCIT as an evidence-based practice for child survivors of trauma ages 2-7.0
The California Evidence-Based Clearing House for Childhood Welfare gives PCIT a scientific rating of 1 stating it is "well supported by research evidence"

What populations benefit from PCIT for Behavior Problems?

We treat 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6-year-olds with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), off-track behaviors related to a history of maltreatment, or challenging behaviors emerging in response to transitions like birth of a sibling, a move, trauma, or a parents' divorce. We also offer evidence-based adaptations of PCIT for kids with anxiety, for children on the autism spectrum with behavioral challenges, as well as, for kids with low prosocial emotions (LPE).

How does Internet delivered PCIT work?

Parents complete the intake appointment via HIPAA secure video conferencing.
The clinician conducts an assessment of the child in various situations via webcam.
The caregiver is taught specific therapy skills to increase the behaviors they want.
The clinician coaches caregivers in the therapy skills, in real time, via a headset or bluetooth earpiece while watching the parent-child dyad via webcam.
Midway through treatment, parents are taught researched skills to enforce safe, calm, effective limits and how to avoid getting caught in the escalation cycle known in research literature as the "coercion cycle."
These skills are coached live time in weekly appointments until both the child and parent are ready to continue to use these skills at home - and in public - on their own.

Many families graduate in 12 to 15 weeks, although treatment is not time limited and can take 24 weeks or longer in some cases. For children with behavior problems, graduation criteria is reached when caregivers have achieved proficiency in the skills and standardized assessments indicate their child's behavior is in the normal range. Research has found higher rates of "excellent responders" when PCIT is administered via telehealth within the child's home environment compared to in a physical office.

Download printable PDF to share with Parents

Long Term Benefits of Early Treatment

Research has repeatedly shown clinically significant improvements with a very large effect size in randomized controlled trials in response to PCIT for children with behavior problems. Improvements at home often generalize to the classroom. Even young children with Level 1 and 2 autism, ADHD, or ODD typically respond to treatment quickly with PCIT with a reduction in off-track behavior. In contrast, without intervention, by mid to late adolescence, ODD patterns become so strong that ODD is often resistant to treatment. Adolescents with ODD are at increased risk for conduct disorder (CD).

Children with limited prosocial emotions (LPE), also called callous unemotional traits, typically start engaging in more serious conduct problems as young as age 7 years. Children with LPE cruelly disregard other's feeling; for example, hurting younger kids and helpless animals without remorse. Children with LPE often have a "fearless temperament" very early on, are highly reward driven, and are not phased by typical consequences. Without intervention, children with LPE have a significantly increased risk of developing CD. The earlier we can intervene when a child may have LPE, the better the prognosis. At eCC, we screen for LPE, provide further assessment as needed, and intervene with an evidence based intervention (PCIT-CU) when indicated to help support development of empathy, warm relationships, and a healthier life trajectory.

Childhood onset of anxiety can impair academic performance, peer relations, and family functioning. As children grow up, those with anxiety disorders are at increased risk of depression, sleep disturbance, and developing problematic substance use. If untreated, childhood anxiety disorders can persist into adulthood and are associated with other psychiatric conditions, as well as, reduced health-related quality of life. Research shows PCIT-CALM for anxiety is an effective, evidence-based intervention for children too young to benefit from cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). PCIT-CALM is a great fit for treating common early childhood disorders like separation anxiety disorder in children as young as 3 years.

Having good friendships is a protective factor supportive of mental health as children mature. We are thrilled to offer PEERS for Preschoolers, one of the only evidence-based friendship skills programs for kids with autism and/or ADHD that is supported by randomized controlled trials. If children have behavioral challenges, they must first complete PCIT to address behavior concerns prior to enrolling in PEERS for Preschoolers.

The long-term preventative benefits of a child having access to standard PCIT, PCIT-ASD, PCIT-CALM, PCIT-CU, and PEERS for Preschoolers at a young age, deepen our commitment to making PCIT treatment in the early years more accessible.

Treatment Costs

Our providers are in network with Aetna, Cigna, BlueCross BlueShield, United Healthcare, and Optum. For families with other types of insurance, we can provide superbills for families paying the standard fee to submit towards out-of-network benefits. We also offer a sliding scale based on income and family size to patients paying out of pocket. We are not in network with Medicaid plans. You can refer Tennessee families with Medicaid plans like Tenncare, Bluecare, Wellpoint, Amerigroup, and United Healthcare Community plans for PCIT with Omni Family of Services via the following link: https://theomnifamily.com/outpatient-referral-form/.

Referrals

Our secure fax number for referrals is 615-645-4774.