Grounded in attachment theory and trauma, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) is an evidence-based, effective, and empirically validated treatment for complex trauma and disorders of attachment. This manual for the practice of DDP will give therapists, educators, and child welfare and residential treatment professionals the tools necessary to help children who have a history of neglect, abuse, orphanage care, or other experiences that may interfere with the normal development of attachment between parent and child. Becker-Weidman looks at the importance of a comprehensive and thorough assessment as the basis for treatment planning and explains in detail the main elements of DDP, including intersubjectivity, emotionally based dialogues, narratives, and co-regulation of emotions and meaning, as well as illustrating these elements through detailed case examples and dialogue. Dr. Becker-Weidman then looks at how the various principles, methods, and techniques of DDP are differentially used in each stage of treatment. A section on parenting outlines how therapists can train caregivers in attachment-facilitating parenting approaches. This book will serve as a treatment manual for DDP and will provide directly useful material for practicing therapists. In addition, the text will be useful in graduate courses on treatment, child welfare, family therapy, and child psychology.

It is difficult to simultaneously deliver a meaningful narrative to a mixed audience of parents and professionals, but that is what the author has managed to do here. The short, pithy case vignettes drive home the author's points, which really add to the practicality of his smooth read. This book melts in your mouth. -- Steven G. Gray, PhD, American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology, author of The Maltreated Child: Finding What Lurks Beneath, University of the Rocki
Dr. Becker-Weidman's book is an excellent guide for the therapist using the DDP approach. The core use of the sequential phases as an instructional tool makes the—sometimes intangible and abstruse—concepts a tangible and facilitative guide for the psychotherapist. -- Joseph J. McGuill, Villa Santa Maria, Inc.

Arthur Becker-Weidman, PhD, is director of the Center for Family Development in Williamsville, New York. He is also the coeditor of Creating Capacity for Attachment: Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Trauma-Attachment Disorders, 2005, second printing 2008, and Attachment Parenting: Developing Connections and Healing Children, 2010. Dr. Becker-Weidman is editor of The Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Casebook, scheduled to be published by Jason Aronson in mid-2011.