Parent counselling: An evaluation of a community child mental health service

Health visitors and Clinical Medical Officers (CMOs) were trained in parent counselling and worked at home in a highly deprived area with parents of preschool children with multiple psychosocial problems. Their basic aims were to establish a mutually respectful partnership and to support parents in managing their diverse problems. Detailed evaluation indicated that the Service was highly valued by both parents and referrers, and suggested significant changes, including: improvements in the severity of problems; increased parental self-esteem; decreased levels of parental stress and emotional difficulties; more positive constructions of their children; improvements in the home environment; and decreased child behavioural problems.