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The practice of assessing children’s emotional development based on a theoretical foundation of attachment theory, developmental psychology, and brain research is fast developing within the...

Using a music therapy approach to assess emotional communication and parent–child interaction is new to the field of child protection. However, musical improvisations in music therapy has long been known as an analogue to affect attunement and early non-verbal communication between parent and infant, which called for an investigation of the value of music therapy within the field of family assessment and family therapy. More specifically, we wanted to investigate and further strengthen assessment of parenting competencies (APC). We developed scores and examined the psychometric properties of the APC-R (revised version) in a quantitative study including a small, embedded qualitative component. A total of 52 dyads of children and their parents participated of whom 18 were in residential center to address emotional neglect and 33 functioned as a non-clinical comparison (children aged 5–12). All dyads underwent two video recorded music therapy assessment sessions. Video analyses focused on autonomy relationship, turns, and parental response types producing scores on Mutual Attunement, Nonverbal Communication Skills and Emotional Parental Response. Psychometric analyses of the APC-R included interrater reliability, test re-test reliability, internal consistency, and concurrent validity. We concluded that APC-R is reliable and valid and adds to the existing observational instruments of parent–child interaction.

The focus of this article is the theoretical understanding behind, and the clinical application of, a newly developed music-therapy assessment tool, Assessment of Parenting Competencies (APC). While the psychometric properties have been analyzed successfully in prior publications, the advantages and challenges of a nonverbal and emotional interactional medium such as music in assessing parent–child interaction and parental capacity are presented and discussed. The assessment model relates to theories of attunement, autonomy, and attachment, and clinical relevance for practice within the field of child protection is addressed according to clinical application of the tool.How can the scores of APC be interpreted and how are they clinically relevant? With the combination of a playful and rigorous approach, APC can provide useful information to families, family therapists, and other social-service professions within the field of child protection, including level of mutual attunement, nonverbal communication skills, emotional parental response, and possibly indications of attachment behavior in the child. APC can thereby help indicate the severity of the situation and the possible therapeutic direction for the family in question.