Dr. Ghosh Ippen, ZERO TO THREE Board Member and renowned early childhood trauma therapist, researcher, and co-developer of Child-Parent Psychotherapy, reflects on lessons learned over more than 30 years in the field.
Drawing on more than 30 years as a trauma therapist and leader in Child-Parent Psychotherapy, she weaves together research, real clinical stories, and the “Holdin Pot” and “Little Pot” metaphor. She shows how many children with challenging behaviors are holding overwhelming experiences in their bodies, often in families where caregivers have also lived through layers of trauma and ACEs. Instead of asking “What is wrong with this child?” she models how to ask, “What happened to this child and this family, and how did they survive?”
5 Key Takeaways for Viewers
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Authenticity and repair strengthen trust.
Children and families sense when adults are overwhelmed, conflicted, or “faking calm.” Dr. Ghosh Ippen highlights how genuine emotion, paired with accountability and repair, builds safety and connection. -
Behaviors are rooted in survival and experience, not “badness.”
Challenging behaviors in young children often reflect adaptations to danger, loss, and ACEs. Understanding what happened, rather than judging what we see, is essential for trauma-informed care. -
Caregiver meaning can break intergenerational cycles.
When caregivers can name and make sense of their own childhood pain, they are more likely to parent differently and interrupt patterns of trauma and violence. This is a core principle of Child-Parent Psychotherapy. -
Babies and young children remember and use play to communicate their stories.
Even toddlers and preschoolers express traumatic memories, fears, and questions through play. CPP offers a guided way for caregivers to join them in making meaning and restoring safety. -
Hope is both emotional and biological.
Relationship-based, trauma-informed interventions like Child-Parent Psychotherapy not only support emotional healing, but they may also reduce some physical impacts of trauma on the developing body.
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