Advanced Consultation:

A podcast that brings you behind the scenes of mental health consultation.

Hear how clinicians think through difficult questions and stay current with emerging evidence—so you can deepen your understanding alongside us.

Behavioral Parent Training Explained: Parents’ Involvement in Therapy is Game-Changing, Bonus Ep 1/3

Behavioral parent training doesn’t have to be cold or rigid, and is much more than star charts and rewards. It can be relational, warm, and practical, shifting underlying patterns and promoting change via everyday interactions. Dr. Rachel LaFleur and Dr. Sofia Goltsberg explain how bevioral parent training, inclusive of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), uses live coaching, attention, and calm boundaries to help families build new patterns, grow skills, manage conflict, reduce parental stress, and promote effecitve coparenting. They discuss who may benefit from behavioral parent training, how it can support children with challenges such as tantrums, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, and sleep issues, and why this approach can help parents feel more confident and less stuck. The conversation offers parents and clinicians a clearer, more compassionate view of behavioral therapy.

Resources:

02:48 — Why Parent Training Works
06:19 — Different Forms of Behavioral Parent Training
06:52 — PCIT and Live Coaching Explained
10:53 — How Behavioral Treatment Can Be Relationship-Centered
16:46 — Shaping the Environment, Not Blaming the Child
24:13 — Teaching Regulation Through Parent Responses
30:15 — What Teaching “Coping Skills” Looks Like in Behavioral Work
35:08 — Who Can Benefit From Behavioral Parent Training
43:19 — Parent Consistency is Fair, Emotionally Safe, and Effective
48:25 — The Role of Assessment and Diagnosis
51:41 — Key Takeaways for Families
55:24 — Training and Resources for Clinicians

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Rachel LaFleur, PhD
Host

Dr. LaFleur is a licensed psychologist in Maryland and D.C., with additional authorization to provide telehealth to most states via PSYPACT. She offers psychotherapy and consultation at Stony Run Psychology & Wellness.

Stephanie Deverich Davis, PhD
Co-Host

Dr. Deverich Davis is a licensed psychologist in California, offering psychotherapy and consultation via Dr. Davis Therapy. Additionally, she is a regular speaker at professional conferences.

Julie Brownley, MD, PhD
Co-Host

Dr. Brownley is a board-certified adult psychiatrist and a specialist in reproductive psychiatry. She leads Psychiatry for Women and serves as an educator for the psychiatry residency program at Johns Hopkins as well as for Postpartum Support International.