The DDPI Worldwide Board of Directors is delighted to introduce Dr. Vicky Sutton as our first Clinical Director.
Vicky is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist based in the UK with 20 years of extensive experience supporting and developing DDP as a DDP Practitioner, Consultant, and Trainer. She has displayed a deep commitment to the model, with considerable expertise in embedding DDP within complex organisations. Vicky has previously served on both the DDPI (now DDPI Worldwide) and DDP Connects UK and Ireland Boards, as well as chairing the Certification and Community Development Committees. She helped to establish DDP Special Interest Groups in the UK and Ireland and is dedicated to affirming relational safety, integrity, equity, and fostering belonging within our community and the organisation.
As Clinical Director, Vicky will provide clinical leadership, developing and overseeing clinical policies and standards, and helping to develop the strategic direction of our organisation.
Dr. Jacqueline Lynch and Dr. Billy Smythe, DDPI Worldwide Board Co-chairs, write: “We are delighted to welcome Vicky to join our team and to help us to develop into the next season of DDP. We feel fully confident that Vicky will bring the passion, energy and commitment to the DDP model to ensure both its worldwide growth and its development as DDP meets the challenges of established and emerging understanding of trauma”.
Prof. Erica Myers-Davis, Executive Director, writes: “Vicky’s appointment marks an important moment for DDPI Worldwide as we strengthen the clinical leadership, governance, and professional standards that support our growing global community. She brings deep experience, wisdom, and relational integrity to this role, alongside a long-standing commitment to DDP and to the people who practise, teach, and benefit from it. I am delighted to welcome her into the Executive Team and look forward to working with her as we continue to develop DDPI Worldwide with care, clarity, and purpose”.
Speaking on her appointment, Vicky said: “I am delighted to be joining DDPI Worldwide as Clinical Director. It feels both a privilege and a responsibility to step into this role at a time when the organisation has grown and changed in such significant ways.
My relationship with DDP spans many years, and I have had the honour of witnessing DDPI evolve up close, including during my time as a Board Member some ten years ago. In those earlier days, much of the work and decision-making sat with a small group of deeply committed therapists. What has been especially heartening is to see how the organisation has grown into a wider, richer, and more collaborative community.
I have been especially inspired by the work of DDPI Worldwide’s committees, and by the people who generously volunteer their time and expertise, helping to shape the organisation in important ways. The leadership shown in racial equity and social justice, the strengthening of certification and supervision pathways, and initiatives such as the GAP Fund all speak to a future in which access, belonging, and professional integrity sit alongside one another.
DDP has profoundly shaped my own practice and understanding of relational safety. As Clinical Director, I hope to support DDPI Worldwide as it continues to grow with care, equity, and integrity — helping more practitioners, children, and families around the world to benefit from this deeply meaningful work.”
Vicky can be contacted directly by email at clinical.director@ddpnetwork.org. You can read more about her and our whole team on the Executive Team page.
