PC-CARE Training
Learn practical, evidence-based skills to help families strengthen relationships and find the behavior strategies that work best for them. Use them right away, or go on to become a Certified PC-CARE Provider.
What is PC-CARE?
Parent-Child Care (PC-CARE) is a 7-session dyadic treatment program for children ages 1 to 10 and their caregivers. Families learn and practice skills to improve their relationships, regulate big emotions, and manage challenging behaviors. It's your favorite therapists' favorite brief parenting intervention.
Each week, parents and children are briefly taught a new skill, practice it during session with live coaching, and plan how to use it at home or school. Developed in 2015, PC-CARE has been shown to improve relationship quality, decrease child behavior problems and trauma symptoms, and increase placement stability.
PC-CARE supports children who…
- Have experienced a stressful or traumatic event
- Are having difficulty with a new school, home, or other big change
- Show behaviors parents are struggling to manage
- Have a caregiver motivated to improve their relationship and learn new caregiving skills
PC-CARE helps families have fun, increase positive communication, and have less stress and struggles
Upcoming trainings
Open trainings are offered periodically. Contact us if you are interested in custom training offerings.
Skills Basics Workshop
9am to 5pm PST · Online
The basics of the PC-CARE model, the free PC-CARE Learning Center, discussing difficult behaviors with families, and teaching, modeling and coaching evidence-based skills.
PC-CARE Comprehensive
&
9am to 5pm PST · 2-day virtual
Intensive coding, coaching, and teaching practice. Learn the how, why, and when of PC-CARE and how to conduct it from start to finish. For those who've completed Phase 1.
PC-CARE Certification
Begins with your first PC-CARE client
7 individual trainer calls
Prepare for each session with your trainer, then receive live or video review feedback on each of your PC-CARE sessions.
Costs & bundle discounts
Bundle phases and save. The full certification path is $3,700, a $250 savings. Payment plans are available, and we can work with you to determine a plan that works for you.
| Training | Cost | Bundle price |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1: Skills Basics | $300 | Phases 1 & 2: $800 ($100 off) |
| Phase 2: Comprehensive | $600 | |
| Phase 3: Certification | $3,050 | Phases 2 & 3: $3,550 ($100 off) |
| All three phases | $3,700 ($250 off) | |
Which phases do I need?
The path to certification
Skills Basics
A full-day workshop of teaching, discussion, and live role-plays. Walk away with tangible skills you can use right away.
Comprehensive
Two interactive days of coding, coaching, and teaching practice so you can conduct PC-CARE from start to finish.
Certification
Seven one-on-one trainer calls and session feedback. Upon completing all three phases, you're a certified PC-CARE Provider.
Your trainers
Brandi Hawk, Ph.D.
PC-CARE Developer
Lindsay Armendariz, M.S.
PC-CARE Developer
Shayla Allen, LMFT
PC-CARE Trainer (Phase 3)
What past trainees say
My trainer was super helpful in increasing my confidence not only with PC-CARE, but in my own therapeutic work overall.
The training was supportive, flexible, focused and really enabled me to meet my goals. I'm a big fan of PC-CARE and am advocating within my organization to increase our capacity. In my experience, families (especially children) love it AND experience significant positive changes.
PC-CARE has been really helpful in working with families of children with disabilities and offering families a slightly different approach/lens in working with their child/ren while also offering the caregivers much-needed support.
PC-CARE helps the families I work with develop a cohesive language and set of skills so that parents can get on the same page about their parenting values and expectations for themselves and their children.
Frequently asked questions
Who is this training for?
Anyone who works directly with children and caregivers can benefit from this training:
- Phase 1 is great for child-care workers and other early-childhood professionals, school staff, social workers, case managers, and anyone who works directly with children. You will leave with tangible skills you can use right away with your clients.
- Phases 2 and 3 are great for anyone who provides direct services to children, such as counselors, therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists.
Do I need to have a license or be working towards licensure (e.g., LMFT, LPCC, LCSW)?
No, you do not need a license to become certified as a PC-CARE provider. In fact, one of the developers right here at Red Leaf Psychology has a non-licensable degree. The developers designed this model to be specifically useful for those who often work directly with children and families, but do not have advanced or licensable degrees.
Is the PC-CARE training offered only virtually?
Typically, we provide all phases of the training virtually, but we will occasionally offer in-person Phase 1 and 2.
- We are happy to contract with agencies for personalized in-person trainings.
How long does certification take?
If you have access to consistent clients and can carry at least 2 clients at a time, our experience has shown that people can be certified within 4 to 6 months.
Policies & CE credits
CE credits and co-sponsorship
Red Leaf Psychology is co-sponsored by Healthy Focus to provide CE credits. Phases 1 and 2 are each eligible for 6 CE credits. Healthy Focus Psychological Center, Inc. is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists and maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CE questions: hello@ahealthyfocus.com.
Attendance policy
Participants must attend the program in its entirety. Arriving late, leaving early, or returning late from breaks means no CE credit; there is no partial credit. We're happy to provide accommodations. Please contact Red Leaf at least 14 days before the event.
Cancellation policy
Cancel on or before 7 business days prior to the program start date to receive a 97% refund. Email a written request to info@redleafpsych.com. There is no commercial support or conflict of interest for this program.
Ready to get started?
Choose your phase and complete your registration online. Questions first? Reach out and our training coordinator will follow up.