
Luann Gray, LMSW
Kim Batsche-McKenzie, LMSW
Rachel Massimilla , LMSW
Parent Management Training - Oregon Model (PMTO) is an evidence-based intervention to help parents and caregivers manage the behavior of their children. The PMTO method is designed to promote prosocial skills and cooperation. It empowers parents as primary treatment agents to promote and sustain positive change in families. Tailored for serious behavior problems for youth from preschool through adolescence, it builds upon the strengths already present in parents and children. In PMTO, clinicians believe that parents are their child's best teacher. Parents are supported and encouraged as they learn skills they can implement at home. Clinicians utilize role-play and problem-solving to promote the development of parents’ skills. Sessions with parents are structured yet flexible to deal with specific family needs and crises as they arise. Parents can choose to participate in individual PMTO, where they meet one-on-one with a PMTO clinician, or in a PMTO group with other parents called Parenting Through Change (PTC).
Therapists participating in PMTO are supported through monthly coaching, and those in training get additional coaching individually. Therapists interested in becoming PMTO clinicians attend 10 days of training in Lansing. In addition, there is a 2-day training, called Informed PMTO, offered at least 2 times annually where clinicians or other staff can learn some basic PMTO skills. The PMTO training, coaching and fidelity monitoring system in Michigan is supported by federal Mental Health Block Grant funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services contracted through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Only therapists who work for Community Mental Health Services Providers (CMHSPs) or contract agencies of CMHSPs are eligible to participate in the 10-day PMTO training to become certified PMTO clinicians.
PMTO has been implemented in the Michigan public mental health system for 12 years and counting. It is offered in 41 counties by 158 PMTO clinicians. In Wayne County, PMTO is currently available through the following contract providers of the Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority (DWMHA): Black Family Development, Inc., The Children’s Center, Development Centers, Hegira Programs, Inc., Lincoln Behavioral Services, Southwest Counseling Solutions and Starfish Family Services.
The Children’s Center was recently chosen as 1 of 2 sites in Michigan to participate in a pilot called Parenting Through Change – Reunification (PTC-R) through a partnership with MDHHS. The other pilot site chosen was the Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham Counties. PTC-R is a 2-part program. In part 1, 10 weekly group sessions are provided shortly after children are placed in foster care. In these sessions, parents learn strategies to increase effective parenting practices. In part 2, PTC-Return Home (PTC-RH), 6 individual sessions are provided to parents as they approach reunification or upon the return of the child. Participation in the PTC-R group is designed to provide support and skills that strengthen parenting and promote long term family success.
For more information about PMTO in Wayne County, please contact PMTO Regional Coordinator, Rachel Massimilla, at (313) 262-0983. For information on the Michigan PMTO project, please contact the State PMTO Coordinator, Luann J. Gray, at (269) 553-7120.