Child-Parent Psychotherapy in the Context of the Developmental Disability and Medical Service Systems

Abstract

Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), an evidence-based dyadic treatment for young children who have experienced trauma, shows promise in intervening with children with developmental disabilities, as illustrated in the cases we described of 14-month-old "James" and 6-year-2-month-old "Juan" (Harley, Williams, Zamora, & Lakatos, 2014). In their thoughtful commentary on these cases, Ghosh Ippen, Noroña, & Lieberman (2014) discuss additional clinical considerations important to the use of CPP with this population.  In this response, we explore further implementation of CPP in the context of the developmental disability and medical service systems.  In particular, we highlight the importance of resilience in parents’ responses to their child’s developmental disability, contributions from pediatric psychology to understanding pediatric medical traumatic stress, infusing relationship-based approaches in collaboration with other service systems, and addressing barriers to service access in ethnic minority families. Finally, we provide recommendations for training and fidelity monitoring when applying CPP to children with developmental disabilities and their families.