Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is an empirically-supported, relationship-based treatment for children aged birth through five years. It is used primarily to treat:
- Children who are experiencing post-traumatic symptoms following trauma, abuse or neglect
- Strained parent-child relationships
- Attachment difficulties in adoptive families
In CPP, the parent and child are brought together in activities that foster mutual pleasure and increase the child’s sense of security, safety and trust in the parent. During play-based activities, the therapist translates the meaning of the child’s behaviors for the parent. During the course of treatment, the child’s symptoms should improve and his/her developmental trajectory should return to its natural course. The parent will have an improved understanding of their child’s cognitive, physical and social/emotional development.
