For All Seasons Center for Learning is offering an in-person training program for professional clinicians in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) taught by the founder of the DDP modality, Dan Hughes, PhD on June 24 – 27, 2024 at Anchor Church in Easton, Maryland. Participating clinicians will receive 28 Category I CEUs for the training. Participants must fully participate in the entire training to be certified. The program is part of the Reactive Attachment Disorder Training in Maryland and has been generously supported by the Maryland Health Resources Commission.

This Level I experiential training is based on and brings together attachment theory, what is known about developmental trauma, the neurobiology of trauma, attachment and caregiving, intersubjectivity theory, and child development.

“Children who have been hurt and/or neglected within their families in their early years of development can be traumatized by these experiences and find it difficult to feel safe and secure within their families. This is sometimes called developmental trauma. To help local therapists have the tools they need to deal with this trauma, For All Seasons’ Center for Learning is offering the certification training to increase the region’s capacity to serve and support youth and families affected by early childhood trauma,” states Lauren Weber, Vice President for Philanthropy and Education at For All Seasons.

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) is a treatment approach to trauma, loss, and/or other dysregulating experiences. DDP is based on principles derived from the theories and research of attachment, attunement, and the knowledge of trauma and interpersonal neurobiology. Dr. Hughes, a clinical psychologist from South Portland, Maine, founded and developed DDP. This psychotherapy treatment occurs in a family setting, with caregivers and youth working side-by-side to form healthy attachments.

“DDP is conversational and involves both the child and the parent. It’s based on attachment principles whereas many other therapies are not. These principles, I think, are basic to human nature. Children who are successful in life have secure attachments to their parents. If a child has been traumatized by parents early in life, they have to learn how to trust parents who are now taking care of them,” Dr. Hughes comments.

“A child may struggle with attachments, not necessarily because they experienced child abuse, for example, but because of stresses in the family. These could be related to family moves, changes in employment, or a divorce. There may also have been intense relationship stresses the child has had to deal with which have undermined their ability to feel safe.”

For nearly 40 years, this model has been used by therapists throughout the United States and Canada, as well as countries in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand to help children and youth reach their full potential and reconnect with others in their lives.

For questions about registration and training logistics, contact Kelsey Trumbull-Meyers at CenterforLearning@forallseasonsinc.org or call 410-822-1018. To register online visithttps://supportforallseasonsinc.org/DDPLevel1-2024.