Parent-Child Interaction Therapy An Examination of Cost.pdfVIP

JEIBI VOLUME 5 – NUMBER 1 Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: An Examination of Cost-Effectiveness Matthew E. Goldfine, Stephanie M. Wagner, Steven A. Branstetter Cheryl B. Mcneil Abstract An empirically supported treatment for children with disruptive behavior disorders, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), has received increased interest from policymakers and mental health administrators regarding its cost-effectiveness (i.e., ratio of treatment costs to behavior gains). This paper examines the projected costs and treatment outcomes associated with implementing and completing PCIT and demonstrates favorable cost-effectiveness ratios. For example, start up costs of PCIT, including equipment and training, were estimated at approximately $14,000 and the average cost of providing PCIT from intake to termination was estimated at approximately $1,000 per client. Benefits include clinically significant improvements on multiple measures of disruptive behavior and strong maintenance data , suggesting the PCIT is an effective and financially viable form of treatment for child disruptive behavior disorders. Keywords: Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), cost-effectiveness, disruptive behavior disorders In regard to mental health impairment, disruptive behavior has been found to be the most frequent cause of child outpatient or inpatient referral (Wells Forehand, 1985) and is estimated to affect up to 23% of young children (O’Brien, 1996). In addition to an especially poor prognosis , the societal cost of children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) is great. Estimates indicate that a child with severe behavioral problems is about ten times more expensive than a child without such problems (S