Dyadic psychotherapy with infants and young children: child-parent psychotherapy.

This article briefly reviews the historical and empiric foundations of dyadic psychotherapy, highlighting the evolution of the central tenet that very young children exist in a relational context. The target of therapeutic intervention must therefore be the caregiver-child relationship. General features of dyadic psychotherapy are discussed, as well as aspects that are unique to the treatment of very young children. An overview of the goals and intervention modalities of Child-Parent Psychotherapy is provided as an example of an evidence-based dyadic intervention that incorporates theoretical principles and techniques of psychodynamic psychotherapy.