Lighthouse Parenting Nanai: a Mentalization-based Group Therapy for Caregivers with History of Trauma

Launched by UNIVERSITY DIEGO PORTALES · Mar 16, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The Lighthouse Parenting Nanai trial is studying a special program called the Lighthouse Mentalization-Based Treatment Parenting Program (Lighthouse MBT-P). This program is designed for parents who may be at risk of harming their children, especially those who have experienced trauma in their own childhoods. The goal is to help these parents understand and manage their emotions better, improve their relationships with their children, and reduce parenting stress. By doing so, the program hopes to lower the chances of child maltreatment.

To participate in this study, parents must be biological caregivers of children aged 0 to 36 months and have faced challenges such as childhood trauma or relationship violence. Participants will join weekly group sessions for 12 weeks, where they will learn skills to help manage emotions through discussions led by trained psychologists. Researchers will compare the experiences of those in the Lighthouse program to those receiving standard parenting support to see which approach is more effective. This trial is currently recruiting participants and aims to provide valuable information on how to support parents in need.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Biological parents of children (0-36 months old) with custody of their child.
• • 2. Parents who have gone through adverse childhood experiences, have a history of parental substance abuse or incarceration, have current exposure to relationship violence, or social isolation, or have lost custody of a child in the past.
• • 3. Parents must be over the age of 18.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Parents who are unable to provide informed consent due to mental or cognitive impairment,
• • 2. Parents not fluent in Spanish.
• • 3. Child's diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder or severe cognitive delay.