Pilot of A Dyadic Parenting Intervention in a Student-Led Allied Health Clinic

Background:
Difficult or disruptive behaviours are common in early childhood and range from age-expected annoyances to less common and more impactful behaviours that disrupt wider social and emotional opportunities for children and their families. Research has reliably demonstrated the effectiveness of dyadic parent-child based interventions for reducing disruptive behaviours in preschool aged children. However, within post-graduate professional psychology training programs in Australia, there are often barriers to teaching intern psychologists dyadic treatment approaches. Barriers such as restricted infrastructure, lack of access to the required technology, and sufficient access to clinical educators suitably trained in dyadic treatments, have been identified.

Objectives:
This paper reports on an ongoing pilot project initiated in 2024
at Bond University Health and Wellness Clinic, a student-led public allied health clinic. The pilot project developed and implemented an adapted dyadic parent-child treatment program co-facilitated by clinical supervisors and interns enrolled in Master of Clinical and Professional Psychology programs at Bond
University. The objectives of the pilot project are: 1) evaluate whether co-facilitating dyadic parenting intervention increases interns’ level of knowledge and confidence in providing evidence-based interventions for preschool age children, 2) measure the effectiveness of a parenting intervention adapted to be delivered within an academic trimester, and 3) evaluate the sustainability, feasibility and impact of instigating a novel service in a public facing, student-led clinic.