Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)

Attachment-Focused Therapy for Young Children and Caregivers

Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is an attachment and trauma-focused treatment model for children ages zero to five and their caregiver. It’s appropriate for children who have experienced a traumatic event or events or who are experiencing mental health, attachment or behavioral problems. CPP targets negative perceptions the child and caregiver have of themselves and each other.

The average length of treatment is 32 weekly, one-hour long sessions. CPP has been successfully delivered in diverse settings, provided that the child is living with a primary caregiver (biological, adoptive, or foster), such as outpatient, in-home and residential treatment settings.

CPP Outcomes

Reduced foster care placement disruptions among children with moderate to severe traumatic experiences
Improved cognitive ability, on par with non-traumatized children

Improved attachment security and organization
Decreased parental and child PTSD symptoms
Decreased parental and child depression

Criteria for CPP Training Eligibility

CPP is a good fit for clinicians who have at least one year of post-Master’s clinical experience at the agency and at least three years of post-Master’s clinical experience. Interested clinicians should have a psycho dynamic and family systems orientation and be comfortable with non-directive, culturally competent approach in clinical treatment. Having good family engagement skills (e.g., low no-show rates, positive feedback from families) and the ability to be reflective about their own practice are important as well.

In addition, clinicians interested in training and implementing CPP should be motivated to learn and grow skills and to implement evidence-based practices; have timely and clear documentation and good time management skills; and experience compassion satisfaction from treating families with trauma histories.

Training Requirements

Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) Learning Collaboratives train teams from community based mental health agencies. Our model relies on clinicians training together with an administrative leader from their agency to ensure successful implementation and sustainability.

CPP Learning Collaboratives include 10 in-person training days with bi-weekly individual and group clinical consultation calls between training dates, as well as submission of at least three session videos. In order to graduate, clinicians must deliver CPP to at least four clients and complete a full course of CPP with at least two clients.

CPP Return on Investment

In the United States, 61% of children are affected by violence, abuse or crime, putting them at increased risk for depression, academic problems, violent behavior, substance use, delinquency, teen pregnancy and other emotional-behavioral challenges. Lifetime costs of childhood maltreatment are estimated at $210,012 per case.

Team Member Requirements

Senior Leaders (at least one per team) must have:

Administrative responsibility within their organization and/or within the local mental health community
Authority to make systematic changes (e.g., procedures, budgeting) to support the implementation of CPP within their organization and/or across their community

Clinicians (six per team maximum) must:

Demonstrate the ability to serve the Medicaid-eligible, or a similar, population

Be a licensed clinician in North Carolina, including clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, psychological associates, psychologists, child psychiatrists, nurse specialists or practitioners (provisionally licensed applicants will be considered)

Who Should Apply?

Applicants are encouraged to apply as part of a team, which can bolster clinical implementation and model sustainability efforts both during and after the training period. When reviewing applications, preference will be given to committed teams with a highly supportive Senior Leader. Individual practitioners are also welcome to apply and may be paired with other individual practitioners for support/peer supervision during the Learning Collaborative.

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Is CPP Right for Your Agency?

CPP is a good fit for agencies with leadership and staff who strive to be trauma-informed in the services provided and are committed to evidence-based and evidence-informed treatment and to infant and early childhood mental health best practices. An agency should have a referral base with a large number of children in the zero to five age range who potentially have experienced a traumatic event or events or who are experiencing mental health, attachment or behavioral problems

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