$750 Registration | Early Registration $600 (through Jan. 1st)


Session Dates: Tuesday, January 25th, February 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd, 2022

Session Times: 9:00 - 10:00 am Pacific 

15 Hours | 15 CEs

(1-hr live, online + 2-hrs  asynchronous each week x 5 weeks) 

This live workshop on Introduction to Developmentally Appropriate Interviewing Using the Revised NICHD Protocol is presented by Michael Lamb, PhD, Irit Hershkowitz, PhD, Mireille Cyr, PhD, and Carlos Eduardo Peixoto, PhD.

The Revised NICHD (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Protocol, developed over the last three decades, provides detailed research and evidence-based guidance for structured forensic interviews of young and vulnerable alleged victims of abuse. Effective use of the Protocol demands both (1) a thorough understanding of the underlying research and principles and (2) extended supervision and guidance as a trainee works to translate principles into effective practices.

This 5-week live workshop will review the underlying research that guided the development of the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol and informed its structure and content, particularly child, event, and interview factors. This live workshop has no prerequisites. This program constitutes the first level—and is a prerequisite for other courses—in the certificate program for users of the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol.

Workshop outline

1-hour live, online each week + 2 hours of readings & assignments weekly

Week 1 - Child factors; Event factors

Week 2 - Preparing the child for the interview

Week 3 - Questioning the child

Week 4 - The transitional phase; Investigating specific incidents

Week 5 – Review and discussion


Required Readings

The required readings are not included with the workshop registration fee. Please purchase both required texts before the first session.

Cyr, Mireille. (2022). Conducting Interviews with Child Victims of Abuse and Witnesses of Crime: A Practical Guide. London, UK: Routledge.

Lamb, M. E., Brown, D., Hershkowitz, I., Orbach, Y., & Esplin, P. W. (2018). Tell me what happened: Questioning Children About Abuse. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

Presented by

Michael Lamb, PhD

Michael E. Lamb is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1976 and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Goteborg (1995), East Anglia (2006), Abertay (2015), and Montreal (2019). Until 29 June 2016, he was a member of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry Panel. He is the author or editor of about 50 books, including Investigative interviews of children (1998), Child sexual abuse: Disclosure, delay and denial (2007), Tell me what happened: Structured investigative interviews of child victims and witnesses (2008 and 2018), Children’s testimony (2011), and Children and cross-examination: Time to change the rules? (2012). Together with his colleagues, Michael worked extensively to develop and validate the NICHD Protocol in a series of studies that began in 1990. He currently edits the journal, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law.

Irit Hershkowitz, PhD

Irit Hershkowitz is a Professor of Social Work, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. Irit is one of the original developers of the NICHD Protocol and, more recently, of the Revised NICHD protocol. For three decades, she has conducted field research on best practice concerning child interviews and has specifically focused on the value of protocol-guided interviews. She has been largely involved in domestic and international training for child investigators. Irit is co-author of the book 'Tell me what happened: structured investigative interviews of child victims and witnesses' (Chichester, UK and Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2008; 2018) and author of many scientific articles and book chapters.

Mireille Cyr, PhD

Mireille Cyr is a licensed psychologist and a professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal. Among other research in child sexual abuse, she has conducted studies on the French version of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Protocol, that is now taught in Québec, Canada and in many French-speaking countries in Europe. In the last 20 years, she has trained police officers and other psychosocial and judicial professionals, mostly in Europe and Canada. She is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and the impact of her work has been recognized by numerous awards. She is the author of numerous books, chapters, and articles including Recueillir la parole de l’enfant témoin ou victime: De la théorie à la pratique (2019, 2e éd) and Conducting interviews with child victims of abuse and witnesses of crime: A practical guide (2022).

Carlos Eduardo Peixoto, PhD

Carlos Eduardo Peixoto has a PhD in Psychology. He is a Forensic Psychologist in private practice and Invited Auxiliary Professor at ICBAS-University of Porto and the Catholic University of Portugal (Oporto Regional Centre). He has served as a trainer and consultant on forensic interviewing to international organizations (e.g. UNODC), police departments, child protection services, courts, public prosecution offices, law firms and insurance companies, especially in Europe and South America.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this sessions participants will be able to:

  • Describe the underlying research that guided the development of the Protocol and informed its structure and content: child and event factors

  • Describe the underlying research that guided the development of the Protocol and informed its structure and content: interview factors

  • Describe the pre-substantive phase of the interview

  • Describe how following the Protocol enhances the value of forensic interviews with children

  • Describe the substantive phase of the interview

  • Describe how following the Protocol enhances the value of forensic interviews with children

  • Intended Audience

    This live workshop is intended for mental health and other allied professionals.

  • Experience Level

    This live workshop is appropriate for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level clinicians.

  • CE / CPD Credit

    APA, ASWB, CPA, NBCC Click here for state and other regional board approvals.

Live Event Policy

  • Event Communications

    The Zoom login information will be sent 1-week, 1-day, and 1-hour before the start of the event. When registering, use an email that is active and that you check regularly. We are not responsible for communications not being received; if you do not add caps@paloaltou.edu to your email safe sender list, our emails are likely to end up in your spam or junk folders.

  • Cancellation Policy

    Have a sudden change of plans and are unable to attend live? No worries, you will be given access to the on-demand version of the program once available.

  • Event Conduct

    Please conduct yourself in a professional manner throughout the event. Our goal is to make this as interactive an experience as possible for all who attend. We reserve the right to remove any participants who are disruptive or who act unprofessionally.

Develop a Specialty Area of Practice

Transforming mental health professionals into experts

  • Expert Instructors

    Professional training developed and delivered by the field's leading experts

  • CE Credit

    Earn CE credit for meaningful professional training that will elevate your practice

  • Convenience & Flexibility

    Learn at your own pace, from wherever you might be!

Looking to train a group?

Custom training options for groups of 5 to 500+

Contact us to talk about group training rates and how we can make annual training and new staff onboarding simple!