Background Emotion-Focused Skills Training (EFST) is a newly developed manualized skill training program for parents to strengthen emotional bonds between parents and children and improve mental health outcomes in children. Results from several preliminary trials indicate that EFST can be quite effective, but more rigorous methods are needed to affirm the evidence of the program. The primary objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of EFST to treatment as usual (TAU) in a Norwegian outpatient clinic for child and adolescent mental health. Additionally, the study will examine the basic theoretical assumption underlying EFST that increased parental emotional functioning predicts a decline in children’s mental health symptoms.  Method  120 patients will be randomly assigned to either EFST or TAU. The main outcome measure is the semi-structured diagnostic interview Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, present and lifetime version (K-SADS-PL) scored by trained assessors administered at pretreatment and repeated after 3 months. The secondary outcome measure is the DSM-IV version of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) administered at pretreatment as well as 3, 6, and 12 months after the intervention. To examine the efficacy question, effect sizes and reliable change for each of the treatment arms will be assessed as well as symptom differences between the conditions. To examine the second aim of the study, we will examine (1) how parents relate to emotions in their children assessed by the Emotion-Related Parenting Styles (ERPS), (2) the parents’ emotion regulation capacity assessed by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, short-form (DERS-SF), and (3) parents’ sense of self-efficacy and the strength of their relationship with the child will be assessed by the relationship with child scale (RWC) of the systemic inventory of change. Discussion This study will provide insights into the effectiveness of EFST in improving children’s mental health and the mechanisms of change responsible for the program’s effectiveness. Impotently, this study may provide information regarding whether children’s mental health issues can be alleviated through therapeutic work provided to the parents alone. Trial registration Clinical trials.gov Identifier: NCT04885036. First Posted on May 13, 2021. Trial status: In recruitment.

ObjectiveThis systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the effects of emotionally oriented parental interventions.BackgroundSeveral emotionally oriented parental interventions have been developed during the last decade. Some of these have gained popularity and spread across several continents. The literature is growing and consists of qualitative studies; intervention only, quasi-experimental, case-control studies; and randomized controlled trials. They indicate effects for parents and children. However, no systematic review or meta-analysis has, to our knowledge, summarized the results.MethodUsing several search engines, we located 8,272 studies. After abstract and full-text screening, 33 studies were assessed for bias and included in the study. Outcomes for parents and children were extracted and combined into three constructs for parents and two for children. Meta-analyses were conducted for each construct to estimate the effect of the interventions using a robust Bayes meta-analysis.ResultsThe results indicate the presence of a small to medium effect on parents' mental health, behavior, and use of emotionally oriented parenting, as well as on children's internalizing and externalizing difficulties. Most participants were recruited from the general population, and clinical settings were rare. The results show little evidence of publication bias.ConclusionThere is evidence of a small to medium effect of emotionally oriented interventions on parents and children.Systematic review registrationhttps://osf.io/un3q4/.

Anxiety disorders are common among children and adolescents. Effective treatments exist, but metaanalyses indicate that 40% of children continue to have significant symptoms posttreatment. Alternative therapeutic interventions are needed. Emotion-focused parental interventions have been found to be effective in targeting children's internalizing difficulties, but no research has examined remission. In this pilot trial, we examined whether Emotion Focused Skills Training (EFST) was associated with remission of diagnosis in children with anxiety. Nine 8-14-year-olds diagnosed with anxiety were recruited at a mental health clinic in Norway. Both parents of each child attended a 2-day EFST program followed by five 1-hour weekly sessions.Pre-and posttreatment diagnosis and severity were evaluated using a multiinformant approach using the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale and the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule. After treatment, 33% no longer met criteria for any anxiety diagnosis, 66% obtained remission from their primary anxiety diagnosis, and 89% from at least one.