Effects of a brief parent intervention to increase attendance, positive outcomes, and satisfaction with their child's therapy treatment

This study examined the effects of a brief parent psycho-educational intervention on therapy attendance rates, clinical outcome ratings, and parent satisfaction assessed after 13 weeks of treatment. Eighty-four parents were recruited from a mental health clinic that provides services to children who were allegedly abused. Parents were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control condition. Parents in the experimental condition received an intervention booklet, which described beneficial outcomes they could expect for their child when they engaged in research-supported treatment. The booklet also let parents know that their participation was integral to their child's treatment, and attempted to increase parent's motivation and self-efficacy to communicate with their child's therapist. Furthermore, it aimed to increase parents' motivation and ability to overcome barriers that might impede bringing their children to treatment on a regular basis. Parents were guided through the booklet to ensure that they read the information and completed the problem-solving exercises for overcoming barriers that might make it difficult to talk to their child's therapist and obstacles that might prevent attendance. Results indicated that there was little difference in rates of attendance, clinical outcomes, and satisfaction between parents who received the intervention and those who did not.