DDP helps adults and children work towards finding safety in relationships. DDP was founded by Dan Hughes. To learn more about Developmental Practice, Parenting and Psychotherapy please visit DDPnetwork.org

 

Sian first works with care-givers or educators to help them understand how a child’s challenging behaviour is protective, how trauma can change the trajectory of  brain development making it even more difficult for a child to be successful in relationships and learning and then how to increase the sense of safety for a child using Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy (PACE). Once adults feel confident in their new understanding and have safety themselves to embark on the difficult journey of changing mis-trust to trust, Sian works with the adult and child to open up the possibility for a new way of being in relationships.

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THE P IN DDP

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Psychotherapy: A therapist works first with the parent of the hurt child to help them understand how trauma impacts both them and their child. Parenting a child who does not trust adults can be very challenging and lead to blocked care. The therapist helps the parent develop adequate self-care, understand the child’s behaviour as survival strategies and to maintain empathy and compassion for their child. When ready, the therapist works dyadically to facilitate a more secure attachment with the parents and integrate traumatic experiences so they no longer impair the child’s ability to have healthy relationships.  

 

Practice: All adults that surround a child have the potential to help that child heal. Dyadic Developmental Practice can be adopted by educators, residential workers, day-care providers, social workers and other teams that support children and families. The goal is to increase understanding of trauma and its impact on development and to help adults create safety in relationships using PACE and other DDP principles. 

Parenting: Dyadic Developmental Parenting helps parents both nurture and set limits in ways that help children build trust in them.

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