Lenses and Mirrors: Reflecting on Dyadic Psychotherapy, Supervision, and Research with Families Involved in the Child Welfare System

Bringing a psychoanalytic treatment approach into a foster care agency: Challenges faced and gains made

“…Once agreeing to do dyadic work with their child, parents are given the option of participating in research (Bate, et al., 2021), and if they give informed consent, a research assistant typically administers questionnaires to the parent. As part of the research protocol, a baseline session of parent‐child interaction is videotaped, and then every 12 th session a video recording is made for the trained coders to assess the efficacy of the treatment.…”

“…We have been formally evaluating our program, partnering with Jordan Bate, assistant professor at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University 6 (Bate. et al., 2021; BB Evaluation Report, 2022), to show the efficacy of applying our psychoanalytic approach to this severely vulnerable and traumatized population in the NAC agency setting. Our initial findings have shown many improvements in parenting and in the dyadic interactions of parents and children, with statistically significant increases in positive behaviors and decreases in negative ones, as measured on the CIB (Coding Interactive Behavior), an evidence‐based rating system developed by Dr. Ruth Feldman (1998).…”

“…Our initial findings have shown many improvements in parenting and in the dyadic interactions of parents and children, with statistically significant increases in positive behaviors and decreases in negative ones, as measured on the CIB (Coding Interactive Behavior), an evidence‐based rating system developed by Dr. Ruth Feldman (1998). In our first study in 2016 (of 36 dyads at beginning of treatment, T 1), and then 12 sessions later (T 2), some of the significant positive changes seen were: parents getting more pleasure in interacting with their children, improved tone of voice, increased ability to attune to their child's level of activity and internal state, becoming more resourceful with more creative and flexible behavior in child's moments of distress and fussiness, and providing a more secure base for their children through improved supportive presence (Bate et al., 2021).…”

“…Once agreeing to do dyadic work with their child, parents are given the option of participating in research (Bate, et al, 2021), and if they give informed consent, a research assistant typically administers questionnaires to the parent.…”

“…We have been formally evaluating our program, partnering with Jordan Bate, assistant professor at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University 6 (Bate. et al, 2021;BB Evaluation Report, 2022), to show the efficacy of applying our psychoanalytic approach to this severely vulnerable and traumatized population in the NAC agency setting.…”