This course will provide students with an introduction to the developmental, individual differences, relationship- based (DIR®) model. Lectures, readings, class discussion, and assignments will provide students an opportunity to learn about a framework to understand how early experiences impact development, learning, mental health, and family dynamics. Evidence-based research of the model will be explored. Application of DIR® theory will include: 1) examples of clinical material as well as routine daily activities, 2) the role of developmental capacities in function, 3) the impact of individual differences, and 4) how relationships and affect fuel development and learning. Students will be provided with an interactive learning environment, sensitive to the principles of adult learning, to become familiarized with the first 9 Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDCs) and Floortime® strategies. Students will apply DIR® thinking to personal and professional experiences across all capacities (FEDCs) to understand the interplay between development and individual differences in the context of relationships.