Parent‐infant Psychotherapy for Improving Parental and Infant Mental Health: A Systematic Review

Jane Barlow,Soili K Larkin,Yinghui Wei,Cathy Bennett,Nick Midgley

doi:10.4073/csr.2015.6

Abstract

Parent‐infant Psychotherapy for Improving Parental and Infant Mental Health: A Systematic Review

Highlights

Parent-infant psychotherapy (PIP) is a dyadic intervention that works with parent and infant together, with the aim of improving the parent-infant relationship and promoting infant attachment and optimal infant development
The findings of the current review suggest that PIP is a promising model in terms of improving infant attachment security in high-risk families, there were no significant differences compared with no treatment or treatment-as-usual for other parent-based or relationship-based outcomes, and no evidence that PIP is more effective than other methods of working with parents and infants
The results of this review suggest that parent-infant psychotherapy (PIP) is a promising model in terms of improving infant attachment security in high-risk populations, including maltreatment and prisons, but that there is currently limited evidence of benefit across many other outcomes measured, including maternal representations and parent-infant interaction

Summary

Introduction

Parent-infant psychotherapy (PIP) is a dyadic intervention that works with parent and infant together, with the aim of improving the parent-infant relationship and promoting infant attachment and optimal infant development. Parent-infant psychotherapy (PIP) is intended to address problems in the parentinfant relationship, and problems such as excessive crying and sleeping/eating difficulties. Infant regulatory disturbances, such as excessive crying, feeding or sleeping difficulties, and bonding/attachment problems represent the main reasons for referral to infant mental health clinics (Keren 2001). Some regulatory disturbances are stable over time with as many as 49.9% of infants and toddlers (aged 12 to 40 months) showing a continuity of emotional and behavioural problems one year after initial presentation (Briggs-Gowan 2006). Problems of this nature are significant predictors of longer-term difficulties. Insecure and disorganised attachment in infancy is associated with poorer outcomes in childhood across a range of domains such as emotional, social and behavioural adjustment, scholastic achievement and peer-rated social status (Berlin 2008; Granot 2001; Sroufe 2005a; Sroufe 2005b), in the case of disorganised attachment, which is a significant predictor of significant later psychopathology (Green 2002)

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Conclusion