Under the Aegis: DDP and Making Sense of Trauma Through Relationship
Understanding behaviours begins with understanding the child. In this post, Guardian ad Litem Nikki McCarthy explores how the Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) model helps carers and professionals better support children who’ve experienced trauma.
When children enter care, they carry the imprint of what they’ve lived through – not only in memories, but in how they relate, respond, and react. Nikki, who has trained in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), reflects on how the model has shaped her thinking when it comes to child advocacy.
DDP is a trauma-informed approach developed by clinical psychologist Dr Dan Hughes, grounded in attachment theory and neurodevelopmental understanding. Its focus is simple yet profound: helping children build trusting relationships through Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, and Empathy – known as the PACE model.
For Nikki, this framework isn’t just for therapists – it’s a lens that can support everyone working with or caring for traumatised children.
I think that’s a really great model for any parent… particularly parenting children who are traumatised and thinking about the impact of their experiences and how they maybe are in relationships.
You can see more on the PACE model in action in last week’s blog, where Nikki explores how mastering the art of enforcing gentle boundaries can help to create safety and connection for children who have experienced trauma.
From theory to everyday understanding
One of the most accessible introductions to this approach is Kim Golding’s book Nurturing Attachments – a resource Nikki strongly recommends. It guides carers and professionals through the DDP model in practical, everyday terms, showing how relational safety and consistent responses can begin to help to repair the effects of trauma.
Another go-to resource is Beacon House, a UK‑based therapeutic service whose website offers short explainer videos for parents, schools, and support professionals. These clips demystify difficult behaviours, offering insights into why a child might withdraw, lash out, or break down – not as defiance, but as a response to deep distress. Two recommended starting points:
- “The Repair of Early Trauma” (video) – an engaging animation explaining how early adversity affects the brain and how healing relationships help rebuild safety.
- “The Window of Tolerance” (video) – a visual guide to how trauma affects regulation and behaviour, and what helps children feel safe and in control.
These resources bring clinical insight into the real world – helping foster carers, social workers, and Guardians ad Litem better understand the children they support.
It might just help make it make more sense… because I would imagine for people looking after children who have been traumatised, it can be very difficult at times. There can be a lot of distress shown – and helping parents reflect on where that comes from just might make it a bit easier.
At TIGALA, we believe good advocacy begins with understanding. That’s why we encourage our Guardians ad Litem to engage with trauma‑informed models like DDP – frameworks that help us look past behaviour and into the relational needs beneath.
By equipping carers and professionals with tools like the PACE model, DDP, and trauma‑informed reflection, we help make life a little more predictable, a little safer, and a lot more hopeful for the children we represent.
Want to go deeper into how our team uses reflective models in practice? You might also like our blogs on Radical Candour and peer mentorship, or trauma-informed access visits.
