What is Child-Parent Psychotherapy? “Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is an intervention for children from birth through age 5 who have experienced at least one traumatic event (e.g., maltreatment, the sudden or traumatic death of someone close, a serious accident, sexual abuse, exposure to domestic violence) and, as a result, are experiencing behavior, attachment, and/or mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The primary goal of CPP is to support and strengthen the relationship between a child and his or her parent (or caregiver) as a vehicle for restoring the child’s sense of safety, attachment, and appropriate affect and improving the child’s cognitive, behavioral, and social functioning.”  SAMHSA.gov 

History: “CPP was developed in the 1980s through an adaptation of the infant-parent psychotherapy model, which was developed in the 1970s by Selma Fraiberg and colleagues. The first efficacy trial of CPP began in 1985. The Child Trauma Research Program began disseminating CPP through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) in 2002. Since then, approximately 143 sites have implemented the intervention. Five randomized controlled trials have been conducted, and the findings from these studies have been published. In addition, reports have been written on the evaluation of dissemination efforts, including the dissemination of CPP within the NCTSN.”  SAMHSA.gov

Theoretical Basis: Based in attachment theory but also integrates psychodynamic, developmental, trauma, social learning, and cognitive behavioral theories.

Key Components: Focus on safety, affect regulation, improving the child-caregiver relationship, normalization of trauma related response, joint construction of a trauma narrative, with the goal of returning the child to a normal developmental trajectory.

Goal: Strengthen family relationships and promote emotional reciprocity; enhance safety; strengthen dyadic affect regulation capacities; strengthen body-based regulation; return to normal developmental trajectory.

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