psychisch kranke eltern auswirkung auf kinder/...infant outside the home due to inadequate care,...
TRANSCRIPT
Psychisch kranke Elternndash Auswirkung auf Kinder
Parents avec des maladies psychiquesndash effets sur les enfants
Daniel S Schechter MD Leiter der Liaisonabteilung Kinder- u Jugend Psychiatrische Dienst und Eltern-Kind Forschungsprojekte Kinderspital Universitaumlt Genf Meacutedecin adjoint agreacutegeacute responsable de lrsquoUniteacute de liaison et de la Recherche parents-enfant SPEA Hocircpital des Enfants HUGUniGe
1
The acquisition of self-regulation of emotion by the age of 4-5 years is
essential for socialization and learning
2
3
The path towards the achievement of self-regulation of emotion begins during infancy with mutual emotion regulation between mother and baby bullThis process occurs in the context of primary attachment (Hofer 1994) bullIt involves a bidirectional system between mother and infant that is asymmetric The infant is hard-wired to seek proximity and emotional responsiveness from mother since birth But the mother an adult has clearly more capacities to understand modulate and respond to her infantrsquos emotional communication and is thus essential
3
Factors that interfere with maternal participation in mutual emotion
regulation bull Stress
bull Trauma
bull Psychopathology
4
A range of parental psychopathology is associated with disturbances in caregiving behavior and participation in mutual emotion and arousal regulation (Schechter amp Willheim 2009
Child amp Adolescent Psychiatry Clinics of N America)
bull Having a schizophrenic mother represents the greatest risk for placing an infant outside the home due to inadequate care followed by bipolar disorder followed by major depressive disorder (Ranning et al 2015)
bull Mothers with affective and schizophrenic disorders are prone to higher risk of child death (Liu Chen amp Loh 2010)
bull Compared with a non-schizophrenia group the speech of mothers with schizophrenia was less infant-focused Additionally mothers with schizophrenia also used significantly fewer songs or rhymes than the comparison group and showed a trend towards fewer negative comments than depressed controls (Wan Penketh Salmon amp Abel 2008)
bull Primiparous mothers with subclinical depression differed significantly from healthy control mothers ie showed poorer mother-to-infant attachment and higher infant-related hostility 6-8 months postpartum (Behrendt 2016)
Beyond Psychotic and Mood Disordershellip
bull Mothers with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) were less confident and were rated as less sensitive in interactions than the comparison group partly attributable to levels of concurrent depression (Challacombe et al 2016)
bull Panic Disordered mothers also displayed less sensitivity toward their infants and reported parenting behaviors concerning infant sleep and discipline that have been associated with child problems (Warren et al 2003)
bull Borderline Personality Disordered mothers were rated as more intrusively insensitive toward their infants (Hobson et al 2005)
bull As predicted a higher proportion (85) of women with borderline personality disorder than women in the comparison groups showed disrupted affective communication with their infants They were also distinguished by the prevalence of frighteneddisoriented behaviour (Hobson et al 2009)
Maternal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) related to interpersonal violence (IPV) exposure
bull Interpersonal violence (IPV ie child physical and sexual abuse domestic violence physical assault rape combat etc) is among the most traumatogenic of human experiences (Breslau et al 1991)
bull In Switzerland 154 out of 10000 women are involved as victims in cases of domestic violence that are reported to the police (38 of all violent crime reported)ndash many more cases go unreported (Swiss Federal Statistics 2016)
bull With a prevalence of only 6-7 in the general US population PTSD prevalence among victims of IPV can be as high as 60-80 (Gabbay et al 2004 Breslau et al 1991)
bull In the UK showed that rates of IPV-PTSD have tripled among women ages 16-24 between 2007 and 2014 (42 to 127) (NHS Statistics September 2016)
bull PTSD is characterized by ldquointense fear helplessness and horrorrdquo related to life-threatening events the memories of which do not extinguish over time (Rothbaum amp Davis 2003 Wessa amp Flor 2007)
bull PTSD typically involves re-experiencing avoidancenumbing hypervigilance and negative cognitions (APA DSM-5 2013)
7
The number of children exposed to physical abuse and domestic violence who are reported to the Geneva University
Hospitals (HUG) Child Protection Committee (Groupe de protection de lrsquoenfant) increased dramatically in 2 years
(Rapport annuel du GPE HUG 2015)
2013 () 2014 () 2015 ()
Physical violence 35 (208) 52 (28) 63 (319)
- Certain 21 (125) 36 (194) 48 (243)
- Probable 10 (59) 7 (38) 7 (36)
- Possible 4 (24) 9 (48) 8 (4)
Most children are under the age of 6 years
8
First studies of PTSD and parenting
Lyons-Ruth amp Block (1996) found a significant association between maternal IPV-PTSD and atypical maternal behavior that was characterized by hostility and intrusiveness
Multiple studies have since shown that
general maternal psychological functioning in the wake of violence exposure is a strong mediator of the impact of violence exposure on the child (Scheeringa amp Zeanah 2001 2015)
We wondered about the effects of the infant and toddlerrsquos normative emotion dysregulation on the traumatized parent
9
So where is the threat Hypotheses
bull The child becomes a threat to the
traumatized parent ndash parent avoids child
bull And since the child cannot understand the avoidant andor aggressive behavior of his traumatized parent the parent becomes an unpredictable threat to the child ndash
child gets more distressed
bull Both become trapped in a vicious cycle of mutual
dysregulation leading to risk for the child
10
Mother
Father or other
partner
Child
Mother
violence
PTSD
How does this dysregulated parent-child relationship affect child developmental psychopathology
Understanding mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission
Violent
Anxious
past violence
RF
RF
(Schechter Suardi in preparation)
11 laquo RF raquo = laquo Reflective functioning raquo a marker for secure attachment as protective factor
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
The acquisition of self-regulation of emotion by the age of 4-5 years is
essential for socialization and learning
2
3
The path towards the achievement of self-regulation of emotion begins during infancy with mutual emotion regulation between mother and baby bullThis process occurs in the context of primary attachment (Hofer 1994) bullIt involves a bidirectional system between mother and infant that is asymmetric The infant is hard-wired to seek proximity and emotional responsiveness from mother since birth But the mother an adult has clearly more capacities to understand modulate and respond to her infantrsquos emotional communication and is thus essential
3
Factors that interfere with maternal participation in mutual emotion
regulation bull Stress
bull Trauma
bull Psychopathology
4
A range of parental psychopathology is associated with disturbances in caregiving behavior and participation in mutual emotion and arousal regulation (Schechter amp Willheim 2009
Child amp Adolescent Psychiatry Clinics of N America)
bull Having a schizophrenic mother represents the greatest risk for placing an infant outside the home due to inadequate care followed by bipolar disorder followed by major depressive disorder (Ranning et al 2015)
bull Mothers with affective and schizophrenic disorders are prone to higher risk of child death (Liu Chen amp Loh 2010)
bull Compared with a non-schizophrenia group the speech of mothers with schizophrenia was less infant-focused Additionally mothers with schizophrenia also used significantly fewer songs or rhymes than the comparison group and showed a trend towards fewer negative comments than depressed controls (Wan Penketh Salmon amp Abel 2008)
bull Primiparous mothers with subclinical depression differed significantly from healthy control mothers ie showed poorer mother-to-infant attachment and higher infant-related hostility 6-8 months postpartum (Behrendt 2016)
Beyond Psychotic and Mood Disordershellip
bull Mothers with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) were less confident and were rated as less sensitive in interactions than the comparison group partly attributable to levels of concurrent depression (Challacombe et al 2016)
bull Panic Disordered mothers also displayed less sensitivity toward their infants and reported parenting behaviors concerning infant sleep and discipline that have been associated with child problems (Warren et al 2003)
bull Borderline Personality Disordered mothers were rated as more intrusively insensitive toward their infants (Hobson et al 2005)
bull As predicted a higher proportion (85) of women with borderline personality disorder than women in the comparison groups showed disrupted affective communication with their infants They were also distinguished by the prevalence of frighteneddisoriented behaviour (Hobson et al 2009)
Maternal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) related to interpersonal violence (IPV) exposure
bull Interpersonal violence (IPV ie child physical and sexual abuse domestic violence physical assault rape combat etc) is among the most traumatogenic of human experiences (Breslau et al 1991)
bull In Switzerland 154 out of 10000 women are involved as victims in cases of domestic violence that are reported to the police (38 of all violent crime reported)ndash many more cases go unreported (Swiss Federal Statistics 2016)
bull With a prevalence of only 6-7 in the general US population PTSD prevalence among victims of IPV can be as high as 60-80 (Gabbay et al 2004 Breslau et al 1991)
bull In the UK showed that rates of IPV-PTSD have tripled among women ages 16-24 between 2007 and 2014 (42 to 127) (NHS Statistics September 2016)
bull PTSD is characterized by ldquointense fear helplessness and horrorrdquo related to life-threatening events the memories of which do not extinguish over time (Rothbaum amp Davis 2003 Wessa amp Flor 2007)
bull PTSD typically involves re-experiencing avoidancenumbing hypervigilance and negative cognitions (APA DSM-5 2013)
7
The number of children exposed to physical abuse and domestic violence who are reported to the Geneva University
Hospitals (HUG) Child Protection Committee (Groupe de protection de lrsquoenfant) increased dramatically in 2 years
(Rapport annuel du GPE HUG 2015)
2013 () 2014 () 2015 ()
Physical violence 35 (208) 52 (28) 63 (319)
- Certain 21 (125) 36 (194) 48 (243)
- Probable 10 (59) 7 (38) 7 (36)
- Possible 4 (24) 9 (48) 8 (4)
Most children are under the age of 6 years
8
First studies of PTSD and parenting
Lyons-Ruth amp Block (1996) found a significant association between maternal IPV-PTSD and atypical maternal behavior that was characterized by hostility and intrusiveness
Multiple studies have since shown that
general maternal psychological functioning in the wake of violence exposure is a strong mediator of the impact of violence exposure on the child (Scheeringa amp Zeanah 2001 2015)
We wondered about the effects of the infant and toddlerrsquos normative emotion dysregulation on the traumatized parent
9
So where is the threat Hypotheses
bull The child becomes a threat to the
traumatized parent ndash parent avoids child
bull And since the child cannot understand the avoidant andor aggressive behavior of his traumatized parent the parent becomes an unpredictable threat to the child ndash
child gets more distressed
bull Both become trapped in a vicious cycle of mutual
dysregulation leading to risk for the child
10
Mother
Father or other
partner
Child
Mother
violence
PTSD
How does this dysregulated parent-child relationship affect child developmental psychopathology
Understanding mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission
Violent
Anxious
past violence
RF
RF
(Schechter Suardi in preparation)
11 laquo RF raquo = laquo Reflective functioning raquo a marker for secure attachment as protective factor
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
3
The path towards the achievement of self-regulation of emotion begins during infancy with mutual emotion regulation between mother and baby bullThis process occurs in the context of primary attachment (Hofer 1994) bullIt involves a bidirectional system between mother and infant that is asymmetric The infant is hard-wired to seek proximity and emotional responsiveness from mother since birth But the mother an adult has clearly more capacities to understand modulate and respond to her infantrsquos emotional communication and is thus essential
3
Factors that interfere with maternal participation in mutual emotion
regulation bull Stress
bull Trauma
bull Psychopathology
4
A range of parental psychopathology is associated with disturbances in caregiving behavior and participation in mutual emotion and arousal regulation (Schechter amp Willheim 2009
Child amp Adolescent Psychiatry Clinics of N America)
bull Having a schizophrenic mother represents the greatest risk for placing an infant outside the home due to inadequate care followed by bipolar disorder followed by major depressive disorder (Ranning et al 2015)
bull Mothers with affective and schizophrenic disorders are prone to higher risk of child death (Liu Chen amp Loh 2010)
bull Compared with a non-schizophrenia group the speech of mothers with schizophrenia was less infant-focused Additionally mothers with schizophrenia also used significantly fewer songs or rhymes than the comparison group and showed a trend towards fewer negative comments than depressed controls (Wan Penketh Salmon amp Abel 2008)
bull Primiparous mothers with subclinical depression differed significantly from healthy control mothers ie showed poorer mother-to-infant attachment and higher infant-related hostility 6-8 months postpartum (Behrendt 2016)
Beyond Psychotic and Mood Disordershellip
bull Mothers with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) were less confident and were rated as less sensitive in interactions than the comparison group partly attributable to levels of concurrent depression (Challacombe et al 2016)
bull Panic Disordered mothers also displayed less sensitivity toward their infants and reported parenting behaviors concerning infant sleep and discipline that have been associated with child problems (Warren et al 2003)
bull Borderline Personality Disordered mothers were rated as more intrusively insensitive toward their infants (Hobson et al 2005)
bull As predicted a higher proportion (85) of women with borderline personality disorder than women in the comparison groups showed disrupted affective communication with their infants They were also distinguished by the prevalence of frighteneddisoriented behaviour (Hobson et al 2009)
Maternal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) related to interpersonal violence (IPV) exposure
bull Interpersonal violence (IPV ie child physical and sexual abuse domestic violence physical assault rape combat etc) is among the most traumatogenic of human experiences (Breslau et al 1991)
bull In Switzerland 154 out of 10000 women are involved as victims in cases of domestic violence that are reported to the police (38 of all violent crime reported)ndash many more cases go unreported (Swiss Federal Statistics 2016)
bull With a prevalence of only 6-7 in the general US population PTSD prevalence among victims of IPV can be as high as 60-80 (Gabbay et al 2004 Breslau et al 1991)
bull In the UK showed that rates of IPV-PTSD have tripled among women ages 16-24 between 2007 and 2014 (42 to 127) (NHS Statistics September 2016)
bull PTSD is characterized by ldquointense fear helplessness and horrorrdquo related to life-threatening events the memories of which do not extinguish over time (Rothbaum amp Davis 2003 Wessa amp Flor 2007)
bull PTSD typically involves re-experiencing avoidancenumbing hypervigilance and negative cognitions (APA DSM-5 2013)
7
The number of children exposed to physical abuse and domestic violence who are reported to the Geneva University
Hospitals (HUG) Child Protection Committee (Groupe de protection de lrsquoenfant) increased dramatically in 2 years
(Rapport annuel du GPE HUG 2015)
2013 () 2014 () 2015 ()
Physical violence 35 (208) 52 (28) 63 (319)
- Certain 21 (125) 36 (194) 48 (243)
- Probable 10 (59) 7 (38) 7 (36)
- Possible 4 (24) 9 (48) 8 (4)
Most children are under the age of 6 years
8
First studies of PTSD and parenting
Lyons-Ruth amp Block (1996) found a significant association between maternal IPV-PTSD and atypical maternal behavior that was characterized by hostility and intrusiveness
Multiple studies have since shown that
general maternal psychological functioning in the wake of violence exposure is a strong mediator of the impact of violence exposure on the child (Scheeringa amp Zeanah 2001 2015)
We wondered about the effects of the infant and toddlerrsquos normative emotion dysregulation on the traumatized parent
9
So where is the threat Hypotheses
bull The child becomes a threat to the
traumatized parent ndash parent avoids child
bull And since the child cannot understand the avoidant andor aggressive behavior of his traumatized parent the parent becomes an unpredictable threat to the child ndash
child gets more distressed
bull Both become trapped in a vicious cycle of mutual
dysregulation leading to risk for the child
10
Mother
Father or other
partner
Child
Mother
violence
PTSD
How does this dysregulated parent-child relationship affect child developmental psychopathology
Understanding mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission
Violent
Anxious
past violence
RF
RF
(Schechter Suardi in preparation)
11 laquo RF raquo = laquo Reflective functioning raquo a marker for secure attachment as protective factor
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Factors that interfere with maternal participation in mutual emotion
regulation bull Stress
bull Trauma
bull Psychopathology
4
A range of parental psychopathology is associated with disturbances in caregiving behavior and participation in mutual emotion and arousal regulation (Schechter amp Willheim 2009
Child amp Adolescent Psychiatry Clinics of N America)
bull Having a schizophrenic mother represents the greatest risk for placing an infant outside the home due to inadequate care followed by bipolar disorder followed by major depressive disorder (Ranning et al 2015)
bull Mothers with affective and schizophrenic disorders are prone to higher risk of child death (Liu Chen amp Loh 2010)
bull Compared with a non-schizophrenia group the speech of mothers with schizophrenia was less infant-focused Additionally mothers with schizophrenia also used significantly fewer songs or rhymes than the comparison group and showed a trend towards fewer negative comments than depressed controls (Wan Penketh Salmon amp Abel 2008)
bull Primiparous mothers with subclinical depression differed significantly from healthy control mothers ie showed poorer mother-to-infant attachment and higher infant-related hostility 6-8 months postpartum (Behrendt 2016)
Beyond Psychotic and Mood Disordershellip
bull Mothers with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) were less confident and were rated as less sensitive in interactions than the comparison group partly attributable to levels of concurrent depression (Challacombe et al 2016)
bull Panic Disordered mothers also displayed less sensitivity toward their infants and reported parenting behaviors concerning infant sleep and discipline that have been associated with child problems (Warren et al 2003)
bull Borderline Personality Disordered mothers were rated as more intrusively insensitive toward their infants (Hobson et al 2005)
bull As predicted a higher proportion (85) of women with borderline personality disorder than women in the comparison groups showed disrupted affective communication with their infants They were also distinguished by the prevalence of frighteneddisoriented behaviour (Hobson et al 2009)
Maternal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) related to interpersonal violence (IPV) exposure
bull Interpersonal violence (IPV ie child physical and sexual abuse domestic violence physical assault rape combat etc) is among the most traumatogenic of human experiences (Breslau et al 1991)
bull In Switzerland 154 out of 10000 women are involved as victims in cases of domestic violence that are reported to the police (38 of all violent crime reported)ndash many more cases go unreported (Swiss Federal Statistics 2016)
bull With a prevalence of only 6-7 in the general US population PTSD prevalence among victims of IPV can be as high as 60-80 (Gabbay et al 2004 Breslau et al 1991)
bull In the UK showed that rates of IPV-PTSD have tripled among women ages 16-24 between 2007 and 2014 (42 to 127) (NHS Statistics September 2016)
bull PTSD is characterized by ldquointense fear helplessness and horrorrdquo related to life-threatening events the memories of which do not extinguish over time (Rothbaum amp Davis 2003 Wessa amp Flor 2007)
bull PTSD typically involves re-experiencing avoidancenumbing hypervigilance and negative cognitions (APA DSM-5 2013)
7
The number of children exposed to physical abuse and domestic violence who are reported to the Geneva University
Hospitals (HUG) Child Protection Committee (Groupe de protection de lrsquoenfant) increased dramatically in 2 years
(Rapport annuel du GPE HUG 2015)
2013 () 2014 () 2015 ()
Physical violence 35 (208) 52 (28) 63 (319)
- Certain 21 (125) 36 (194) 48 (243)
- Probable 10 (59) 7 (38) 7 (36)
- Possible 4 (24) 9 (48) 8 (4)
Most children are under the age of 6 years
8
First studies of PTSD and parenting
Lyons-Ruth amp Block (1996) found a significant association between maternal IPV-PTSD and atypical maternal behavior that was characterized by hostility and intrusiveness
Multiple studies have since shown that
general maternal psychological functioning in the wake of violence exposure is a strong mediator of the impact of violence exposure on the child (Scheeringa amp Zeanah 2001 2015)
We wondered about the effects of the infant and toddlerrsquos normative emotion dysregulation on the traumatized parent
9
So where is the threat Hypotheses
bull The child becomes a threat to the
traumatized parent ndash parent avoids child
bull And since the child cannot understand the avoidant andor aggressive behavior of his traumatized parent the parent becomes an unpredictable threat to the child ndash
child gets more distressed
bull Both become trapped in a vicious cycle of mutual
dysregulation leading to risk for the child
10
Mother
Father or other
partner
Child
Mother
violence
PTSD
How does this dysregulated parent-child relationship affect child developmental psychopathology
Understanding mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission
Violent
Anxious
past violence
RF
RF
(Schechter Suardi in preparation)
11 laquo RF raquo = laquo Reflective functioning raquo a marker for secure attachment as protective factor
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
A range of parental psychopathology is associated with disturbances in caregiving behavior and participation in mutual emotion and arousal regulation (Schechter amp Willheim 2009
Child amp Adolescent Psychiatry Clinics of N America)
bull Having a schizophrenic mother represents the greatest risk for placing an infant outside the home due to inadequate care followed by bipolar disorder followed by major depressive disorder (Ranning et al 2015)
bull Mothers with affective and schizophrenic disorders are prone to higher risk of child death (Liu Chen amp Loh 2010)
bull Compared with a non-schizophrenia group the speech of mothers with schizophrenia was less infant-focused Additionally mothers with schizophrenia also used significantly fewer songs or rhymes than the comparison group and showed a trend towards fewer negative comments than depressed controls (Wan Penketh Salmon amp Abel 2008)
bull Primiparous mothers with subclinical depression differed significantly from healthy control mothers ie showed poorer mother-to-infant attachment and higher infant-related hostility 6-8 months postpartum (Behrendt 2016)
Beyond Psychotic and Mood Disordershellip
bull Mothers with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) were less confident and were rated as less sensitive in interactions than the comparison group partly attributable to levels of concurrent depression (Challacombe et al 2016)
bull Panic Disordered mothers also displayed less sensitivity toward their infants and reported parenting behaviors concerning infant sleep and discipline that have been associated with child problems (Warren et al 2003)
bull Borderline Personality Disordered mothers were rated as more intrusively insensitive toward their infants (Hobson et al 2005)
bull As predicted a higher proportion (85) of women with borderline personality disorder than women in the comparison groups showed disrupted affective communication with their infants They were also distinguished by the prevalence of frighteneddisoriented behaviour (Hobson et al 2009)
Maternal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) related to interpersonal violence (IPV) exposure
bull Interpersonal violence (IPV ie child physical and sexual abuse domestic violence physical assault rape combat etc) is among the most traumatogenic of human experiences (Breslau et al 1991)
bull In Switzerland 154 out of 10000 women are involved as victims in cases of domestic violence that are reported to the police (38 of all violent crime reported)ndash many more cases go unreported (Swiss Federal Statistics 2016)
bull With a prevalence of only 6-7 in the general US population PTSD prevalence among victims of IPV can be as high as 60-80 (Gabbay et al 2004 Breslau et al 1991)
bull In the UK showed that rates of IPV-PTSD have tripled among women ages 16-24 between 2007 and 2014 (42 to 127) (NHS Statistics September 2016)
bull PTSD is characterized by ldquointense fear helplessness and horrorrdquo related to life-threatening events the memories of which do not extinguish over time (Rothbaum amp Davis 2003 Wessa amp Flor 2007)
bull PTSD typically involves re-experiencing avoidancenumbing hypervigilance and negative cognitions (APA DSM-5 2013)
7
The number of children exposed to physical abuse and domestic violence who are reported to the Geneva University
Hospitals (HUG) Child Protection Committee (Groupe de protection de lrsquoenfant) increased dramatically in 2 years
(Rapport annuel du GPE HUG 2015)
2013 () 2014 () 2015 ()
Physical violence 35 (208) 52 (28) 63 (319)
- Certain 21 (125) 36 (194) 48 (243)
- Probable 10 (59) 7 (38) 7 (36)
- Possible 4 (24) 9 (48) 8 (4)
Most children are under the age of 6 years
8
First studies of PTSD and parenting
Lyons-Ruth amp Block (1996) found a significant association between maternal IPV-PTSD and atypical maternal behavior that was characterized by hostility and intrusiveness
Multiple studies have since shown that
general maternal psychological functioning in the wake of violence exposure is a strong mediator of the impact of violence exposure on the child (Scheeringa amp Zeanah 2001 2015)
We wondered about the effects of the infant and toddlerrsquos normative emotion dysregulation on the traumatized parent
9
So where is the threat Hypotheses
bull The child becomes a threat to the
traumatized parent ndash parent avoids child
bull And since the child cannot understand the avoidant andor aggressive behavior of his traumatized parent the parent becomes an unpredictable threat to the child ndash
child gets more distressed
bull Both become trapped in a vicious cycle of mutual
dysregulation leading to risk for the child
10
Mother
Father or other
partner
Child
Mother
violence
PTSD
How does this dysregulated parent-child relationship affect child developmental psychopathology
Understanding mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission
Violent
Anxious
past violence
RF
RF
(Schechter Suardi in preparation)
11 laquo RF raquo = laquo Reflective functioning raquo a marker for secure attachment as protective factor
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Beyond Psychotic and Mood Disordershellip
bull Mothers with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) were less confident and were rated as less sensitive in interactions than the comparison group partly attributable to levels of concurrent depression (Challacombe et al 2016)
bull Panic Disordered mothers also displayed less sensitivity toward their infants and reported parenting behaviors concerning infant sleep and discipline that have been associated with child problems (Warren et al 2003)
bull Borderline Personality Disordered mothers were rated as more intrusively insensitive toward their infants (Hobson et al 2005)
bull As predicted a higher proportion (85) of women with borderline personality disorder than women in the comparison groups showed disrupted affective communication with their infants They were also distinguished by the prevalence of frighteneddisoriented behaviour (Hobson et al 2009)
Maternal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) related to interpersonal violence (IPV) exposure
bull Interpersonal violence (IPV ie child physical and sexual abuse domestic violence physical assault rape combat etc) is among the most traumatogenic of human experiences (Breslau et al 1991)
bull In Switzerland 154 out of 10000 women are involved as victims in cases of domestic violence that are reported to the police (38 of all violent crime reported)ndash many more cases go unreported (Swiss Federal Statistics 2016)
bull With a prevalence of only 6-7 in the general US population PTSD prevalence among victims of IPV can be as high as 60-80 (Gabbay et al 2004 Breslau et al 1991)
bull In the UK showed that rates of IPV-PTSD have tripled among women ages 16-24 between 2007 and 2014 (42 to 127) (NHS Statistics September 2016)
bull PTSD is characterized by ldquointense fear helplessness and horrorrdquo related to life-threatening events the memories of which do not extinguish over time (Rothbaum amp Davis 2003 Wessa amp Flor 2007)
bull PTSD typically involves re-experiencing avoidancenumbing hypervigilance and negative cognitions (APA DSM-5 2013)
7
The number of children exposed to physical abuse and domestic violence who are reported to the Geneva University
Hospitals (HUG) Child Protection Committee (Groupe de protection de lrsquoenfant) increased dramatically in 2 years
(Rapport annuel du GPE HUG 2015)
2013 () 2014 () 2015 ()
Physical violence 35 (208) 52 (28) 63 (319)
- Certain 21 (125) 36 (194) 48 (243)
- Probable 10 (59) 7 (38) 7 (36)
- Possible 4 (24) 9 (48) 8 (4)
Most children are under the age of 6 years
8
First studies of PTSD and parenting
Lyons-Ruth amp Block (1996) found a significant association between maternal IPV-PTSD and atypical maternal behavior that was characterized by hostility and intrusiveness
Multiple studies have since shown that
general maternal psychological functioning in the wake of violence exposure is a strong mediator of the impact of violence exposure on the child (Scheeringa amp Zeanah 2001 2015)
We wondered about the effects of the infant and toddlerrsquos normative emotion dysregulation on the traumatized parent
9
So where is the threat Hypotheses
bull The child becomes a threat to the
traumatized parent ndash parent avoids child
bull And since the child cannot understand the avoidant andor aggressive behavior of his traumatized parent the parent becomes an unpredictable threat to the child ndash
child gets more distressed
bull Both become trapped in a vicious cycle of mutual
dysregulation leading to risk for the child
10
Mother
Father or other
partner
Child
Mother
violence
PTSD
How does this dysregulated parent-child relationship affect child developmental psychopathology
Understanding mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission
Violent
Anxious
past violence
RF
RF
(Schechter Suardi in preparation)
11 laquo RF raquo = laquo Reflective functioning raquo a marker for secure attachment as protective factor
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Maternal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) related to interpersonal violence (IPV) exposure
bull Interpersonal violence (IPV ie child physical and sexual abuse domestic violence physical assault rape combat etc) is among the most traumatogenic of human experiences (Breslau et al 1991)
bull In Switzerland 154 out of 10000 women are involved as victims in cases of domestic violence that are reported to the police (38 of all violent crime reported)ndash many more cases go unreported (Swiss Federal Statistics 2016)
bull With a prevalence of only 6-7 in the general US population PTSD prevalence among victims of IPV can be as high as 60-80 (Gabbay et al 2004 Breslau et al 1991)
bull In the UK showed that rates of IPV-PTSD have tripled among women ages 16-24 between 2007 and 2014 (42 to 127) (NHS Statistics September 2016)
bull PTSD is characterized by ldquointense fear helplessness and horrorrdquo related to life-threatening events the memories of which do not extinguish over time (Rothbaum amp Davis 2003 Wessa amp Flor 2007)
bull PTSD typically involves re-experiencing avoidancenumbing hypervigilance and negative cognitions (APA DSM-5 2013)
7
The number of children exposed to physical abuse and domestic violence who are reported to the Geneva University
Hospitals (HUG) Child Protection Committee (Groupe de protection de lrsquoenfant) increased dramatically in 2 years
(Rapport annuel du GPE HUG 2015)
2013 () 2014 () 2015 ()
Physical violence 35 (208) 52 (28) 63 (319)
- Certain 21 (125) 36 (194) 48 (243)
- Probable 10 (59) 7 (38) 7 (36)
- Possible 4 (24) 9 (48) 8 (4)
Most children are under the age of 6 years
8
First studies of PTSD and parenting
Lyons-Ruth amp Block (1996) found a significant association between maternal IPV-PTSD and atypical maternal behavior that was characterized by hostility and intrusiveness
Multiple studies have since shown that
general maternal psychological functioning in the wake of violence exposure is a strong mediator of the impact of violence exposure on the child (Scheeringa amp Zeanah 2001 2015)
We wondered about the effects of the infant and toddlerrsquos normative emotion dysregulation on the traumatized parent
9
So where is the threat Hypotheses
bull The child becomes a threat to the
traumatized parent ndash parent avoids child
bull And since the child cannot understand the avoidant andor aggressive behavior of his traumatized parent the parent becomes an unpredictable threat to the child ndash
child gets more distressed
bull Both become trapped in a vicious cycle of mutual
dysregulation leading to risk for the child
10
Mother
Father or other
partner
Child
Mother
violence
PTSD
How does this dysregulated parent-child relationship affect child developmental psychopathology
Understanding mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission
Violent
Anxious
past violence
RF
RF
(Schechter Suardi in preparation)
11 laquo RF raquo = laquo Reflective functioning raquo a marker for secure attachment as protective factor
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
The number of children exposed to physical abuse and domestic violence who are reported to the Geneva University
Hospitals (HUG) Child Protection Committee (Groupe de protection de lrsquoenfant) increased dramatically in 2 years
(Rapport annuel du GPE HUG 2015)
2013 () 2014 () 2015 ()
Physical violence 35 (208) 52 (28) 63 (319)
- Certain 21 (125) 36 (194) 48 (243)
- Probable 10 (59) 7 (38) 7 (36)
- Possible 4 (24) 9 (48) 8 (4)
Most children are under the age of 6 years
8
First studies of PTSD and parenting
Lyons-Ruth amp Block (1996) found a significant association between maternal IPV-PTSD and atypical maternal behavior that was characterized by hostility and intrusiveness
Multiple studies have since shown that
general maternal psychological functioning in the wake of violence exposure is a strong mediator of the impact of violence exposure on the child (Scheeringa amp Zeanah 2001 2015)
We wondered about the effects of the infant and toddlerrsquos normative emotion dysregulation on the traumatized parent
9
So where is the threat Hypotheses
bull The child becomes a threat to the
traumatized parent ndash parent avoids child
bull And since the child cannot understand the avoidant andor aggressive behavior of his traumatized parent the parent becomes an unpredictable threat to the child ndash
child gets more distressed
bull Both become trapped in a vicious cycle of mutual
dysregulation leading to risk for the child
10
Mother
Father or other
partner
Child
Mother
violence
PTSD
How does this dysregulated parent-child relationship affect child developmental psychopathology
Understanding mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission
Violent
Anxious
past violence
RF
RF
(Schechter Suardi in preparation)
11 laquo RF raquo = laquo Reflective functioning raquo a marker for secure attachment as protective factor
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
First studies of PTSD and parenting
Lyons-Ruth amp Block (1996) found a significant association between maternal IPV-PTSD and atypical maternal behavior that was characterized by hostility and intrusiveness
Multiple studies have since shown that
general maternal psychological functioning in the wake of violence exposure is a strong mediator of the impact of violence exposure on the child (Scheeringa amp Zeanah 2001 2015)
We wondered about the effects of the infant and toddlerrsquos normative emotion dysregulation on the traumatized parent
9
So where is the threat Hypotheses
bull The child becomes a threat to the
traumatized parent ndash parent avoids child
bull And since the child cannot understand the avoidant andor aggressive behavior of his traumatized parent the parent becomes an unpredictable threat to the child ndash
child gets more distressed
bull Both become trapped in a vicious cycle of mutual
dysregulation leading to risk for the child
10
Mother
Father or other
partner
Child
Mother
violence
PTSD
How does this dysregulated parent-child relationship affect child developmental psychopathology
Understanding mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission
Violent
Anxious
past violence
RF
RF
(Schechter Suardi in preparation)
11 laquo RF raquo = laquo Reflective functioning raquo a marker for secure attachment as protective factor
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
So where is the threat Hypotheses
bull The child becomes a threat to the
traumatized parent ndash parent avoids child
bull And since the child cannot understand the avoidant andor aggressive behavior of his traumatized parent the parent becomes an unpredictable threat to the child ndash
child gets more distressed
bull Both become trapped in a vicious cycle of mutual
dysregulation leading to risk for the child
10
Mother
Father or other
partner
Child
Mother
violence
PTSD
How does this dysregulated parent-child relationship affect child developmental psychopathology
Understanding mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission
Violent
Anxious
past violence
RF
RF
(Schechter Suardi in preparation)
11 laquo RF raquo = laquo Reflective functioning raquo a marker for secure attachment as protective factor
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Mother
Father or other
partner
Child
Mother
violence
PTSD
How does this dysregulated parent-child relationship affect child developmental psychopathology
Understanding mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission
Violent
Anxious
past violence
RF
RF
(Schechter Suardi in preparation)
11 laquo RF raquo = laquo Reflective functioning raquo a marker for secure attachment as protective factor
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Reflective Functioning (RF) an operationalization of mentalization
(Fonagy et al 1998 Slade 2005) bull Fonagy Target Steele amp Steele (1998) created a manual based on their research
by which one could assess adult reflective functioning (RF) by coding narrative responses on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
bull RF in this context refers to an individualrsquos capacity to attribute mental states (thoughts amp feelings) to her own parents and to herself in an interpersonal context in an effort to understand motivatons for behavior (ldquoholding others and oneself in mindrdquo)
bull Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) (Slade 2005) refers rather to an individual parentrsquos capacity to attribute mental states to her child and in herself in an interpersonal context (ldquoholding onersquos child and oneself in mindrdquo see Coates SW 1998)
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
+
Clinician-assisted Video-feedback
Exposure Session (CAVES)
Parent-Child Interaction 1-2 wks
Screening
Maternal Assessment
OVERALL PROTOCOL Children Ages 1-35 years
MRI
2-4 wks
Observed and Maternal Report
Child Behavior Ages 5-9 years
Phase I Phase 2
Maternal Report Child
Behavior Ages 2-45 years
Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project within the NCCR-SYNAPSY
(Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013) 13
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Sampling
bull Flyers in community hospitals and domestic violence agencies for over-sampling of violence-exposed mothers
bull Adult French-speaking mothers who were not actively substance abusing psychotic pregnant and who could participate in study tasks
bull Biological children ages 12-42 months living with mother who could participate in study tasks
bull Fathers not interviewed for ethical reasons bull Recruited 123 dyads out of which 99 adult mothers with
children mean age 269 months (SD 88) had complete data 64 mothers with PTSD out of which 49 had IPV-PTSD and 35 mothers without PTSD (controls)
bull No significant maternal amp child age and gender group differences (pgt3) (Schechter et al 2015)
14
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Maternal exposure to trauma (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Physical abuseas a child
Sexual abuse asa child
Exposed todomestic
violence as achild
Non-violencerelated trauma
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult bynon-partner
Sexual orphysical assaultas an adult by
partner
Any type ofphysical or
sexual assault asan adult
35
9 22 28 32
8
41
69
29
64 59
85 89
100
Types of trauma suffered by group
Controls
PTSD
N=84 out of 99 subjects with complete data (excludes 15 mothers who had PTSD due to non-IPV events) 15
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
16
15-month-old girl and traumatized mother during separation
Can the young child trigger traumatic memory traces in mothers with IPV-PTSD
Mother laquoI canrsquot stand it when babies cryhellip it means putting up with being helplessraquo
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
17
2015 Oct48179-89 doi 101016jchiabu201505023 Epub 2015 Jul 2 Impact of a maternal history of childhood abuse on the development of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life Fuchs A1 Moumlhler E1 Resch F1 Kaess M1 Abstract hellipWomen who reported moderate or severe sexual andor physical abuse were included in the maltreatment group (n=58 MG) and compared with a non-maltreated comparison group (n=61
CG) Emotional availability (EA) was investigated under experimental conditions when the children were 5 and 12 months of age using the Emotional Availability Scales While mother-child dyads in the MG showed only very discrete interactional alterations at an infant age of 5 months their EA differed significantly from the CG at 12 months due to the lack of an increase in EA observed in the MG Exploratory analyses showed an additional effect of emotional abuse on EA at 12 months These data indicate that the period when child locomotion develops might represent a critical time window for mothers with a history of abusehellip (See also Muzik et al 2016 J Affective Disorders)
There is likely a developmental window (ie sensitive period) specific to the effects of certain forms of parental psychopathology on children
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
MAIN RESULTS 3 TYPES OF PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION BEHAVIORALEMOTIONAL PHYSIOLOGIC NEURAL ACTIVITY
18
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Behavioral and emotional dysregulation (Schechter et al 2015 CHUD)
bull Maternal IPV-PTSD severity is associated with difficulty in identifying emotions in self and others (ie alexithymia) (plt01)
bull Both are associated with increased parenting stress (plt005) and decreased maternal sensitivity (plt01) (ie increased controlling and unresponsive behavior) on the CARE-Index
HC
PTSD
Level of stress
HC n= 9 PTSD n=11
Schechter et al 2012 SCAN
19
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Physiological Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis among Mothers with IPV-PTSD
Salivary cortisol reactivity to separation stress and circadian rhythms (N=45) (Cordero et al in revision)
Consistent with methylation results
for glucocorticoid receptor NR3c1 (Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
20
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Cortico-limbic dysregulation when mothers see toddlers (own and unfamiliar) in separation vs play
(Schechter et al 2015 Frontiers)
Blue areas show negative correlations of neural activity and IPV-PTSD severity
Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
n = 55 p lt 005 k gt 27 21
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
0102030405060708090
100
43
5 5
38
5 0
55 53
18
94
35 45
control
PTSD
Violence Exposure among the Children of Mothers with versus without IPV-PTSD (N=59)
22
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Child symptoms as predicted and mediated by maternal neural activity in reponse to seeing
separation vs play scenes (Schechter Moser et al in revision)
23
Maternal IPV-PTSD is associated with
Attachment Disorder (Secure Base Distortion) at 12-24 months (T1) plt005
Child PTSD at 24-54 months (T2) plt01
(N-T1=59 N-T2=48)
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Towards identification of risk for an aggressive endophenotype
(Schechter et al 2016 Behavioural Brain Research)
24
Methylation of the serotonin HTR3A receptor at a specific CpG site (CpG 2_III) in promoter region adjacent to functional SNP both associated with physical abuseviolence in prior studies (Jajodia et al 2015 Perroud et al 2016)
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Less methylation of maternal HTR3A at CpG2_III is correlated with
bull greater lifetime maternal violence exposure
bull greater maternal aggression
bull greater child self-endangering behavior impulsivity and aggression
bull less activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and left medial temporal gyrus in response to film scenes of menacing versus neutral and prosocial adult
M-F interactions
25
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Implications for treatment (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Schechter et al 2015)
bull Top-down cortico-limbic regulation dysfunctions when IPV-PTSD mothers are exposed to child helpless states (ie distress separation anxiety tantrums) and thus tend to avoid rather than approach their toddler leading to mutual dysregulation during sensitive periods for the development of emotional regulation (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013 Moser Schechter et al 2015)
bull We have developed a brief manualized psychotherapy Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure-Approach Therapy or laquo CAVEAT raquo to target this empirically supported mechanism (Schechter Rusconi Serpa Horst Willheim amp Suardi in preparation)
bull Having developed a therapeutic alliance with the traumatized mother we expose mothers to filmed interactions that they might otherwise avoid in joint attention with a co-regulating reflective therapist (Schechter amp Rusconi Serpa 2013)
26
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Addressing Maternal Alexithymic Errors and Parenting Distress Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions or ldquoCAVESrdquo
(Schechter et al 2006 2015)
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION bull Reflective clinician supports the motherrsquos ability to tolerate and integrate
the negative trauma-associate emotions stirred up by routine stresses such as separation and tantrums
TECHNIQUE OF INTERVENTION
bull The clinician states that we are going to focus on what happened during the mother-child interactions that were filmed during the previous visit
bull The clinician asks what the mother remembers most from those interactions what she remembers as the most fun moment and as the most difficult moment for her and for her child
bull The clinician then proposes four 30-second excerpts from Visit 2 for joint parent-clinician review in the following order
an optimal moment (joy joint attentionmutualityetc)
a moment of separation (when mother is not in the playroom)
a moment of reunion (when mother returns)
novel stimuli (clown and scary toys)
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
CAVES Technique to support and model parental curiosity (PRF) laquo The Mantra raquo
hellipdeliberately repetitive
bull Following each excerpt the clinician poses to the mother a series of questions and probes in order to stimulate maternal RF
Examples of probes (ldquoMantrardquo) Tell me what happened here What do you think was going in your child mind In your mind What were you feeling then Does the moment we watched remind you of any other moments
in your own life If so tell me about that What are you feeling as you are watching that moment with me Why do you think I chose this moment for us to watch
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
CAVES in the Continuum of Video Feedback Interventions
bull The CAVES integrates aspects of four evidence-based interventions Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Foa) Interaction Guidance (McDonough) Minding the Baby and MIO (Mentalization-based parent-infant treatment) (Slade Suchman) Infant-Parent Psychotherapy (Lieberman)
bull See review by Rusconi-Serpa Sancho-Rossignol et McDonough on Video Feedback in Parent-Infant Treatment (2009)
bull Specificity of the intervention ndash joint attention to video feedback of mother-child interaction that
involves mother and supportive clinician
ndash exposure to child distress during separation
ndash clinicians modelling of RF during the intervention
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Maternal Attributions Rating Scale (MARS) Yields Continuous Ratings of Maternal
Descriptors bull Took content item of WMCI ldquoName 5 words
(adjectives) that describe your childrsquos personalityrdquo and had words rated independently with a 5-point scale
bull Rated by 4 post-doc infancy specialists given age of child only
bull Inter-rater reliability high Negativity ICC=76
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Significant Decrease in Negativity of Attributions on MARS after CAVES in a Referred Sample (n=32)
Paired t-tests comparing degree of negativity of maternal attributions from the post-play paradigm condition (wseparation-reunions) to post-CAVES corr sig means SD
n=3241 pV2 1430 276 31 0082 pV3 1235 259 mean SD t (df) sig Paired diffs 195 314 350 (31) 0001 95 CI (081 308) 11 variance of change accounted for by baseline maternal RF Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Mothers with PTSD have a significantly higher degree of negativity at baseline towards child self and
maternal primary attachment figure (M-PAF) Means (SD) by ANOVA PTSD (Case ) Subthreshold Control F-test (df 256) Towards child V1 1453 (431) 1215 (349) 1084 (305) 677 V3 1128 (404) 1046 (318) 1017 (239) 056 Towards self V1 1483 (356) 1064 (291) 1089 (260) 886 V3 1426 (362) 1164 (276) 1061 (347) 567 Towards M-PAF V1 1612 (499) 1368 (496) 1224 (396) 441 V3 1558 (537) 1296 (429) 1179 (510) 276+ Significance (p) + lt1 ldquordquo= lt05 ldquordquo= lt01 ldquordquo= lt005
Schechter et al (2015) Child Psychiatry and Human Development
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Example of change of traumatized motherrsquos attributions towards a 27-month-old boy mother was abused by her
laquo disorganized unstable mother raquo and mother was victim of domestic violence by boyrsquos laquo possessive controlling raquo dad
disorganizedhellip messy worries worries
worries affectionate affectionate
talkative disorganized intelligent
possessive intelligent talkativehellip too much
unstable sometimes selfish awake
MARS score=20 MARS score=155 MARS score=1325
V1 V2 V3 post-CAVES
Negative Distorted Positive Age-Appropriate
Mother stated that she underestimated her importance to son and interpreted his efforts to connect as controlling possessive
(Schechter et al Child Psychiatry amp Human Development in press)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Total Child
Behavior
Problems
Parenting
Stress
Negative
Attributions
PTSD Total
Symptoms
plt05 plt01 plt 001
07 (03) 199 (74)
42 (11)
58 (16)
163 (69)
RMSEA = 07 CFI = 99 SRMSR = 003
Negativity of Attributions Predicts Disrupted Communication in the P-C Relationships (Basu Willheim et al in prep)
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Another case example that shows why the CAVES may offer an advantage to
some traumatized mothers and children in an opening phase of
treatment over infant-parent psychotherapy that does not use videofeedback hellip by stimulating
maternal curiosity and wonderment Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Clinical illustration from Geneva (Merminod Kreis Rusconi Serpa)
Mme A and her son Flavio (age 14-months) Flavio was first seen by our consult-liaison team when he was
hospitalized for failure to thrive at age 6-months He was treated discharged but returned as weight not maintained When by 9-10 months of age it became clear that Flavio had a severe
feeding disorder Mme A amp Flavio joined our research study when Flavio reached 12
months and participated over the next 6 weeks Mother completed the CAVES and said that she had not imagined that
her reactions to her child were as she had seen them in the video Subsequent dyadic psychotherapy included videofeedback in the form
of Modified Interaction Guidance (Rusconi Serpa amp McDonough)
36 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
37
Clinical illustration from Geneva Mme Arsquos Story Mother age 22 at time of our study unemployed and on public
assistance She had just begun training to become a home health-aide when she
found out she was pregnant with Flavio and stopped attending History of extreme and chronic domestic violence between her parents
and her alcoholic fatherrsquos otherwise erratic often physically and verbally abusive behavior with the children
Mme A left her parentsrsquo home for Flaviorsquos father at age 18 He became increasingly irritable on verge of violence in peripartum
period Diagnosis of IPV- PTSD (CAPS score of 100 and PCL-S of 43)
37 Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Flavio as large and dangerous at 13 months
Whom does Flavio remind you of
Wellhellip my father because my father hit my mother a lot but even morehellipThat makes me think of my boyfriend and at the same time my father Because my father is in fact also someone with a strong personality imposing and my boyfriend the same the father of Flavio therefore reminds me of these two personalities because Flavio is a strong kid It makes me think a little bit of both indeed He is veryhellipeveryone tells me that also in fact from his face (he looks like both men)hellip
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
laquo CAVES raquo with Mme A
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the CAVES when Flavio was 13-months-old (with naso-gastric tube) The therapist is Sandra Rusconi Serpa
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
CAVES Excerpts with Mme A (Clinician
Sandra Rusconi Serpa)
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Towards CAVE-T Modified Interaction Guidance with Mme A following CAVES (Flavio is 14 months-old)
bull With the kind permission of Mme A we will now see several film excerpts from the continuation of infant-parent psychotherapy that incorporated modified interaction guidance with videofeedback after the CAVES and after both therapists saw the DVD of the CAVES The therapists are Gaeumllle Merminod and Axelle Kreis
bull Note laquo ball in the tube raquo game and how Flavio in excitement throws a fast-ball
bull Mother startles
bull Mother lifts tube to protect herself Makes game harder for F
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Outcome of this experimental extended treatment
bull Reduction in maternal symptoms and significant improvement in childrsquos feeding and affect regulation observed and quantified in this test-case
bull Parent-infant psychotherapists have become more sensitized to subtle exchanges between traumatized mother and child
bull Motherrsquos startle response at child play gesture opened up the representation first described in the CAVES research visit that took place mid-way through an ongoing psychotherapy
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Treatment or Adjunct Intervention
bull This intervention may for some families by choice or by necessity be the only treatment the dyad will receive
bull But we envision this intervention more often as a catalyst transition or first step that precedes a longer-term child-parent psychotherapy andor adult treatment of the parent of a more traditional nature
bull WARNING Cannot learn a CAVES intervention in one 2 hour workshophellip This is meant as a laquo taster raquo
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Maintenance
sessions
12 treatement sessions (6x 2 Modules)
Also using principles of Interaction Guidance
and Trauma-focused cognitive therapy
1 session
Intervention plan
3 Evaluation sessions
+ Mother-child relationship and trauma
+ videofeedback
caves
CAVEAT INTERVENTION 16 sessions
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
laquo If there is one theme that runs throughout the pages of our case
records it is lsquoI want something better for my baby than what I had
myselfrsquo raquo
Fraiberg S (1980) Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health New York
Basic Books Inc p 28
Copyright 2016 Daniel S Schechter MD
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Thanks Merci pour votre attention Danke fuumlr Ihre Aufmerksamkeit Geneva Early Childhood Stress Project Team
Sandra Rusconi Serpa (co-PI) Sonia Junod Virginie Pointet Raffaella Torrisi Aurelia Manini Florence Caccia Dominik Moser
Francesca Suardi Marylegravene Vital-Benour
46
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47
Thanks to our funders
In Geneva National Center for Competence in Research ldquoSYNAPSYrdquo Swiss National Science Foundation Fondation Gertrude von Meissner UNIGE Research Fund Medical Directorship HUG Fondations PrimrsquoEnfance Oak
UniGe-Princeton Fund
In New York NIH K23-MH68405 to DS Schechter Maternal PTSD and Interactive Behavior IPA Research Advisory Board Grants AACAP Pilot Research Award Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Columbia U Ruane Scholarship Award Bender-Fishbein Fund NIH M01 RR000645-34 to DS Schechter Mother-Child Interaction Project MRI Lab New York State Psychiatric Institute
47