abstract
| - The treatment meets the standards of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, The American Academy of Child Psychiatry, American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, National Association of Social Workers, and various other groups' standards for the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents. This is a non-coercive treatment. The principles and methodology of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy are based on long-standing treatment principles supported by some nonrandomized research evidence. This is a non-coercive treatment. The basic principles of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy are grounded in well established treatment principles for the treatment of complex trauma: 1.
* Safety 2.
* Self-regulation 3.
* Self-reflective information processing 4.
* Traumatic experiences integration 5.
* Relational engagement 6.
* Positive affect enhancement Dyadic developmental therapy principally involves creating a "playful, accepting, curious, and empathic" environment in which the therapist attunes to the child’s "subjective experiences" and reflects this back to the child by means of eye contact, facial expressions, gestures and movements, voice tone, timing and touch, "co-regulates" emotional affect and "co-constructs" an alternative autobiographical narrative with the child. Dyadic developmental psychotherapy also makes use of cognitive-behavioral strategies. Two empirical studies concluded that the treatment was more effective for the treatment of reactive attachment disorder and emotional trauma than "usual treatments" although there has been some criticism of the research. In addition, many of the components of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy are based on sound clinical principles from Child Development research and treatment. These include respect for the client, attunement, developing reflective abilities, and related components.
|