David Dixon
Custodian of the Goulding System
The Goulding System is the life’s work of Joane Goulding, founder and creator of the original method that has supported families for decades.
This updated edition has been prepared with one clear purpose: to preserve the heart of Joane’s work while making it clear, ethical, evidence-informed, and accessible for parents and carers raising children in today’s world.
David Dixon has worked alongside Joane Goulding for more than two decades and has been closely involved in the development, refinement, and teaching of the Goulding System. Originally trained as a health practitioner, David has been in clinical practice since 1980 and has worked within therapeutic and educational settings since the late 1990s.
Over time, his practical experience with families, combined with his long collaboration with Joane, placed him in a unique position to help bridge the original work with contemporary research, practical family experience, and language that feels clear, warm, and usable for today’s parents.
After relocating to Singapore, David became the first Goulding System trainer in the region. With Joane’s support, he helped expand international access to the work, developed early online editions of the material, and established directories to help families locate trained support.
In recent years, as Joane has stepped back from the business and administrative responsibilities of the System, David has taken on the role of ongoing custodian. Throughout 2025, he worked closely with Joane to consolidate decades of practitioner experience with current understanding in child development, emotional learning, sleep, and neuroscience.
His role in this edition is that of co-author, editor, and custodian.
The intention is simple: to honour Joane’s original work, protect its integrity, and ensure that the Goulding System remains a clear, responsible, and practical resource for parents today — and for the families who will come to it in the years ahead.
A note from Joane Goulding
Over more than twenty-five years of working together, I have seen David’s understanding of this work develop in both depth and practice. He has been closely involved in supporting families and in refining the language and teaching of the Goulding System as it has evolved.
In preparing this updated edition, David and I have worked side by side to ensure the principles of the Goulding System remain intact while being expressed clearly for modern families. My trust in David is personal and specific, based on our long collaboration and shared responsibility for this work.
This edition represents the version I formally recognise and support as the authentic continuation of the Goulding System: its most up-to-date and carefully stewarded expression. The Goulding System has always been grounded in care, integrity, and responsibility to families, and it is in that spirit that I have entrusted its ongoing custodianship.
Joane Goulding
Founder and Creator of the Goulding System