A Male Caregiver Adaptation Study of the Connecting and Reflecting Experience Parenting Program

A Male Caregiver Adaptation Study of the Connecting and Reflecting Experience Parenting Program

Male caregivers play a critical role in children's emotional development, yet they are often underrepresented in parenting interventions and may experience unique barriers to emotional engagement and support. This study will evaluate whether a 12-session parenting group therapy program is feasible, acceptable, and appropriate for male-identifying caregivers of children and adolescents receiving mental health services.

The intervention being studied is the Connecting and Reflecting Experience (CARE) parenting program, a mentalizing-focused group therapy designed to strengthen caregivers' ability to reflect on their own and their child's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. CARE has demonstrated promise in improving parental reflective functioning, reducing parenting stress, and enhancing parent-child relationships in prior studies, but has not yet been evaluated in a group composed exclusively of male-identifying caregivers.

Participants will take part in a 12-session weekly CARE group delivered via telehealth, with each session lasting one hour. Participants will also be asked to complete brief self-report surveys before, during, and after participation in the group. The purpose of the study is to inform future intervention development and determine whether CARE is a useful intervention for groups of male caregivers.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parents or primary caregivers who identify as male or identifies themself as having a male caregiving role (e.g., identifies as a father or "father figure")
• Caregiver of a child aged 0-17 years
• Child currently receiving psychiatric or behavioral health services within the Montefiore-Einstein Health System
• English-speaking
• Insurance accepted by Montefiore outpatient behavioral health services

Exclusion Criteria:

• Prior participation in a Connecting and Reflecting Experience (CARE) group
• Participation in another parenting-focused group or workshop within the past year
• Current episode of psychosis or mania, or active suicidal ideation requiring a higher level of care
• Serious psychiatric, neurocognitive, or substance-related difficulties requiring inpatient treatment or that would impede group participation, as determined by the PI or study clinician
• Limited English fluency