Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) is a model of intervention developed by Dan Hughes to help children who have experienced developmental trauma. Within DDP, parents are an integral part of the therapy with their children. They join the therapy sessions and provide a DDP-informed parenting approach at home. This draws on the parents’ capacity for emotional regulation and mentalisation so that they can adopt the attitude of PACE (playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy) as described by Dan Hughes. Therapists need to work with the parents in order to prepare them for this collaboration. Parent and therapist make a therapeutic alliance built upon mutual trust and respect. The therapist prepares the parent for engaging in the child’s sessions and provides parenting support and guidance. An important part of this work is exploring the parents’ attachment history. This helps the parent to understand when they find staying open and engaged to their child most difficult and to be supported to find ways out of the defensive parenting that they can move into. This work can be extended when parents carry their own significant trauma histories. The therapist helps the parents to know their own vulnerability so that they can be available to the child when most needed. This can help them to stay compassionate to themselves and more available for their child. With the kind permission of one adoptive father, I will show examples of the work we did together to illustrate the importance and significance of this trauma work.
 (This session will not be recorded)