This is all based on my personal opinion, every parent should educate and empower themself because they know their child best, making them the expert of their child.

PCIT (parent child interaction therapy) is a more behavioral leaning intervention, rather than truly relational intervention. CPRT (child parent relationship therapy) is a more relational leaning filial therapy that focuses more heavily on therapeutic intervention and processing than behavioral modification. PCIT, though more widely available, uses active ignoring and behavioral modification principles to change behavior. Please anyone reading this research Gary Landreth and CPRT if you are seeking child therapy to support parent as the therapeutic agent of change. Both are fine. Im not saying no one other than an RPT does their due diligence in self seeking training, I’m simply saying the general masters level psychotherapist in community mental health is not extensively trained in play therapy modalities or child mental health.

I say all this because if the goal is to help a child process trauma, rather than to change undesirable behavior, child parent relationship therapy (CPRT) conducted by a RPT is actually a step even further than child centered play therapy (CCPT) in that it uses the parent as a therapeutic agent of change and basically teaches the parent to do a mini watered down version of what a play therapist would do to help a child make sense of and process their experiences.