DDP Level Two is an advanced training course in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP).
This training equips you to understand the DDP principles and to develop their use within your practice.
You can find all open training in our Training listings:
On this page:
Introduction
DDP Level Two follows on from the ideas and skills introduced in DDP Level One.
It is a skills-based training, during which each participant will have an opportunity to receive consultation about their work, participate in role-playing activities and further develop their skills.
Past participants have said they get a great deal out of DDP Level Two as hearing about other people’s work, sharing any issues, and listening to consultation is extremely helpful and affirming.
The DDP Trainer will tailor the course to meet the consultation and skills training needs of the group.
Who is it for?
DDP Level Two is open to people who have completed DDP Level One. You should be beginning to use the DDP principles and interventions in your day-to-day professional work.
Past attendees have included clinical psychologists, social workers, parent mentors, therapists and other practitioners.
How is it taught?
This training course is completed over 28-hours, during 4 days of in-person or up to 5 days of online training. The days can be taken consecutively or in blocks.
In-person and online training are both DDPI-approved.
Trainers will bring their own styles and examples of DDP practice, but all will equip you to start to understand and apply the DDP principles.
No matter where it is run from, DDP Training is based on the same approved materials and DDP Trainers will have completed the same training programme to become approved as DDP Trainers by DDPI.
All trainers are working to ensure representation of a broader range of cultures and experiences.
Training based in a country other than your own? A training run in a country other than your own may be influenced by and reference the context of local services and the backdrop of the place that the training and the majority of participants are based (e.g. National Health Service in the UK).
Who can provide the training?
DDP Level Two training must be provided by DDPI-approved DDP Trainers in order to be officially recognised by DDPI. All DDP Trainers on this website are DDPI-approved, to find a DDP Trainer please use our Find a DDP Practitioner, Consultant or Trainer pages.
The training and certification in DDP or DDP PACE offered by any other training institute or company not associated with DDPI or a DDP or DDP PACE Trainer, is therefore not recognised by DDPI.
About DDP
DDP is a therapeutic intervention model developed by Dr. Dan Hughes, Clinical Psychologist and celebrated author from Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Dan created DDP as a treatment for families with adopted or fostered children who had experienced early life trauma. It is family-based and focused on facilitating the child’s readiness and ability to establish a secure attachment with their caregivers.
It is an approach that:
- Integrates recent research in neurobiology of trauma, early child development and attachment theory, to produce a therapeutic and parenting approach that assists professionals to understand and effectively support children with trauma- attachment problems, and their families
- Communicates playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy (PACE) in order to help the child regulate their feelings (often fear, shame and anger) associated with past experiences and to create together new meanings to be integrated into the child’s life story (autobiographical narrative).
- Recognises the vital role which adoptive parents, foster carers and residential workers play in the recovery of traumatised, attachment-resistant children.
Course aims and objectives
Download a copy of the DDP Level Two course content PDF >
The main aim of DDP Level Two training is for each participant to have opportunities to focus on the successes and barriers experienced in applying the model. Whether this applies within their practice via supervision, or consultation about their work with families or their specific practice.
Objectives
- To gain a deeper understanding of the theory and practice of the interventions and parenting principles used in this approach
- To follow up on any relevant themes that participants would like more teaching on
- To provide participants with the opportunity to explore how their attachment history and experiences may inform and have an impact on their work (in small groups of 3 people for one hour a day)
Recommended reading
We recommend reading the following books prior to attending a training.
Healing Relational Trauma with Attachment-Focused Interventions
Kim S. Golding, Julie Hudson, Daniel A. Hughes
Attachment Focused Family Therapy: The Workbook
Daniel A. Hughes
On Completion
Once you have completed DDP Level Two you will receive your certificate and can describe yourself as:
‘developing my use of the DDP principles within my practice’
Next Steps
You can decide to stop at this stage and incorporate DDP principles into your practice.
Some go onto become a DDPI-approved Experienced Practitioner, more information can found on the Experienced Practitioners and Supervision page.
If you would like to move further along your DDP journey you may need DDP supervision.
Find out about DDP supervision
Practitioner in DDP
The certification process to become a Practitioner in DDP, called the Practicum, is a supervised skills-based process that evaluates your DDP work.
It is open to clinicians who aim to practice DDP as part of their day-to-day work.
You must have completed DDP Level One and Two before you start the application process, find out more below.
Find a DDP Level Two training to attend
You can find all open training in our Training listings:
DDP Level Two training with places available
Commission a DDP Level Two training for your organisation or company
If you would like to find out more about DDP training for your employees please see our How to commission training section.
If you have any other questions about DDP Training please get in touch on our contact page.
FAQs
Only Certified Practitioners in DDP can say that they do DDP therapy. You can say you are ‘developing my use of the DDP principles within my practice’. Read more about this in our How to describe yourself on different stages of the DDP journey table.
In order to become certified as a DDP Trainer you must firstly be a certified DDP Consultant, have been nominated by a DDPI Board member (amongst other requirements) and have completed the DDP Trainer Certification Practicum.
