Dyadic developmental psychotherapy (DDP) is a mental health intervention intended primarily for children with problematic attachment histories. It has received increased attention in the United Kingdom and the United States in the last few years. DDP has been publicized as a research-supported treatment, but a review of research shows that it does not meet ordinary standards for this category. In addition, DDP appears to be based on a number of questionable metaphors that have been used in attempted explanations of personality development and mental illness. Some unanswered questions about the background assumptions of DDP are presented. Caution about this method of therapy is recommended.
AideuisD. (2007). Promoting attachment and emotional regulation of children with complex trauma disorder. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 3, 546–554.
2.
AlexanderF.FrenchT. (1946). Psychoanalytic therapy: Principles and application. New York, NY: Ronald Press.
3.
AltmanD. G.SchulzK. F.MoherD.EggerM.DavidoffF.ElbourneD.…LangT. (2001). The revised CONSORT statement for reporting randomized trials: Explanation and elaboration. Annals of Internal Medicine, 134, 663–694.
4.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5th ed. Washington, DC: Author.
5.
Bakermans-KranenburgM. J.Van IJzendoornM. H. (2009). The first 10,000 adult attachment interviews: Distributions of adult attachment representations in clinical and non-clinical groups. Attachment & Human Development, 11, 223–263.
6.
BarberT. X. (1962). Hypnotic age regression: A critical review. Psychosomatic Medicine, 24, 286–299.
7.
Becker-WeidmanA. (2006a). Treatment for children with trauma-attachment disorders: Dyadic developmental psychotherapy. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 23, 147–171.
8.
Becker-WeidmanA. (2006b) Dyadic developmental psychotherapy: A multi-year follow-up. In SturtS. M. (Ed.), New developments in child abuse research (pp. 43–60). Hauppage, NY: Nova Science.
9.
Becker-WeidmanA. (2006c). Letter to the editor. Child Maltreatment, 11, 379–380.
10.
Becker-WeidmanA. (2008). Treatment for children with reactive attachment disorder: Dyadic developmental psychotherapy. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 13, 52.
11.
*Becker-WeidmanA. (2010). Dyadic developmental psychotherapy: Essential practices and methods. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.
12.
Becker-WeidmanA. (2011). The dyadic developmental psychotherapy casebook. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.
13.
Becker-WeidmanA.HughesD. (2008.) Dyadic developmental psychotherapy: An evidence-based treatment for children with complex trauma and disorders of attachment. Child and Family Social Work, 13, 329–337.
14.
Becker-WeidmanA.HughesD. (2010). Dyadic developmental psychotherapy: An effective and evidence-based treatment—Comments in response to Mercer and Pignotti. Child and Family Social Work, 15, 6–11.
Becker-WeidmanA.ShellD. (2010). Attachment parenting: Developing connections and healing children. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.
17.
BowlbyJ. (1982) Attachment. New York, NY: Basic.
18.
ChaffinM.HansonR.SaundersB. E.NicholsT.BarnettD.ZeanahC…Miller-PerrinC. (2006). Report of the APSAC task force on attachment therapy, reactive attachment disorder, and attachment problems. Child Maltreatment,11, 76–89.
ClarkD. M. (2011). Implementing NICE guidelines for the psychological treatment of depression and anxiety disorders: The IAPT experience. International Review of Psychiatry, 23, 318–327.
21.
ClineF. W. (1992). Hope for high risk and rage filled children. Evergreen, CO: EC Publications.
CravenP. A.LeeR. E. (2006). Therapeutic interventions for foster children: A systematic research synthesis. Research on Social Work Practice,16, 287–304.
24.
DesJarlais, D. C., Lyles, C., Crepaz, N., and the TREND group (2004). Improving the reporting quality of nonrandomized evaluations of behavioral and public health interventions: The TREND statement. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 361–366.
25.
DodgeK. A.BatesJ. E.PettitG. S. (1990). Mechanisms in the cycle of violence. Science, 250, 1678–1683.
FahlbergV. I. (1990). Residential treatment: A tapestry of many therapies. Indianapolis, IN: Perspectives.
28.
FriendJ. (2012). Mitigating intergenerational trauma within the parent-child attachment. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 33, 114–127.
29.
GewirtzJ. L. (1972). Attachment and dependency. New York, NY: Wiley.
30.
GoldsteinK. (1939). The organism. New York, NY: American Book.
31.
GrantS.MontgomeryP.HopewellS.MacdonaldG.MoherD.Mayo-WilsonE. (2013). Developing a reporting guideline for social and psychological intervention trials. Research on Social Work Practice, 23, 595–602.
32.
GrayD. (2002). Attaching in adoption. Indianapolis, IN: Perspectives Press.
33.
GreenspanS. I.WiederS. (2006). Infant and early childhood mental health. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
34.
HackingI. (1999). The social construction of what?Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
35.
HoffmanK. T.MarvinR. S.CooperG.PowellB. (2006). Changing toddlers’ and preschoolers’ attachment classifications: The circle of security intervention. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 1017–1026.
36.
HughesD. (1997). Facilitating developmental attachment. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
37.
HughesD. (2006). Building the bonds of attachment (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Jason Aronson.
38.
HughesD. (2007). Attachment-focused family therapy. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
39.
*HughesD. (2009). Attachment-focused parenting. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
40.
*HughesD. (2011). Attachment-focused family therapy workbook. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
KhanK. S.ter RietG.PopayJ.NixonJ.KleijnenJ. (2001). CRD Report 4: Stage II. Conducting the review. Phase 5. Study quality assessment. York, England: Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York. Retrieved fromhttp://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/pdf/crd_4ph5.pdf.
43.
KnightZ. G. (2005). The use of the “corrective emotional experience” and the search for the bad object in psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy59, 30–41.
44.
LakoffG. (1993). The contemporary theory of metaphor. In OrtonyA. (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 202–251). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
45.
LindenM. (2013). How to define, find, and classify side effects in psychotherapy: From unwanted events to adverse treatment reactions. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 20, 286–296.
46.
LittrellJ. (1998). Is the reexperience of painful memories therapeutic?Clinical Psychology Review, 18, 71–102.
47.
LittrellJ. (2009). Expression of emotion: When it causes trauma and when it helps. Journal of Evidence-based Social Work, 6, 300–320.
48.
MercerJ. (2011). The concept of psychological regression: Metaphors, mapping, Queen Square, and Tavistock Square. History of Psychology, 14, 174–196.
49.
MercerJ.PenningtonR. S.PignottiM.RosaL. (2010). Dyadic developmental psychotherapy is not “evidence-based”: Comments in response to Becker-Weidman and Hughes (2009). Child and Family Social Work, 15, 1–5. Retrieved fromhttp://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1356-7500. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2009.00609.x.
50.
MercerJ.PignottiM. (2007). Shortcuts cause errors in systematic research syntheses: Rethinking evaluation of mental health interventions. Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, 5, 59–77.
51.
MercerJ.SarnerL.RosaL. (2003). Attachment therapy on trial. Westport, CT: Praeger.
52.
MinnisH.GreeneJ.O’ConnorT. G.LiewA.GlaserD.TaylorE.…SadiqF. A. (2009). An exploratory study of the association between reactive attachment disorder and attachment narratives in early school age children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59, 931–942.
PignottiM.MercerJ. (2007). Holding therapy and dyadic developmental psychotherapy are not supported and acceptable social work interventions. Research on Social Work Practice, 17, 513–519.
RandolphE. (2000). Manual for the Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire. Evergreen, CO: The Attachment Center Press.
58.
ReichW. (1945). Character analysis. Rangely, ME: Orgone Institute Press.
59.
SaundersB.BerlinerL.HansonR. (2004). Child physical and sexual abuse: Guidelines for treatments. Retrieved fromhttp://www.musc.edu/cvc/guidl.htm.
60.
SpiekerS.CrittendenP. (2010). Comparing two attachment classification methods applied to preschool strange situations. Clinical Child Psychiatry and Psychology,15, 97–120.
61.
SpitzR. A. (1965). The first year of life: A psychoanalytic study of normal and deviant development of object relations. New York, NY: International Universities Press.
62.
SternD, (1985). The interpersonal world of the infant. New York, NY: Basic.
ThomasN. (1997). When love is not enough. Evergreen, CO: NT Press.
65.
ThomasN. (2000). Parenting children with attachment disorders. In LevyT. M. (Ed.), Handbook of attachment interventions (pp. 67–111). San Diego, CA: Academic.
66.
TronickE. Z. (1989). Interactive mismatch and repair: Challenges to the coping infant. Zero to Three, 6, 1–6.
WhiteS. (2010). Retracted: Dyadic developmental psychotherapy: An effective and evidence-based treatment—Comments in response to Mercer and Pignotti. Child and Family Social Work, 15, 134.
