Conversations for Change (with Curiosity from PACE)(4/5): OPEN COURSE

This is advanced-level training within our five-part PACE programme. Participants must have completed the PACE Mindset (Module One) before attending this course, as it builds on the shared relational and trauma-informed foundations established earlier in the programme.

When supporting children and young people through distress or challenging behaviours, our natural instinct as caregivers is often to jump straight into "fixing" or correcting. However, externally imposed change rarely lasts. Grounded in the Curiosity pillar of the PACE mindset, this transformative course equips practitioners with the skills to move from "How do I stop this?" to "What is this child telling me?"

By weaving together Nonviolent Communication (NVC), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and positive psychology, you will learn to deploy non-judgemental curiosity as an intentional, trainable skill, thereby reducing defensiveness and strengthening the therapeutic alliance, even in high-stress moments.

Key Learning Outcomes

• Master Curiosity as a Relational Tool: Learn how intentional, non-judgemental curiosity signals safety, reduces threat responses, and maintains connection during difficult conversations.
• Integrate NVC & Motivational Interviewing: Combine NVC’s precision in naming feelings and unmet needs with MI’s ability to work through ambivalence and roll with resistance.
• Understand the Communication Model of Behaviour: Uncover the hidden feelings (fear, shame, overwhelm) and unmet needs (autonomy, safety, connection) driving observable behaviour.
• Overcome the Righting Reflex: Recognise when the urge to advise or "fix" accidentally bypasses intrinsic motivation, creates dependence, or triggers reactance.
• Apply 'Name It to Tame It': Master a practical 4-step framework to help children feel seen and build emotional literacy.
• Develop Deep Listening & De-escalation: Cultivate attending, following, and reflecting skills to handle conflict safely, stay grounded, and repair relational ruptures.

Why Choose This Course?

• Dual Evidence-Based Foundation: Directly bridges Marshall B. Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication and Miller & Rollnick’s Motivational Interviewing into a unified, practical framework.
• Connection Before Correction: Prioritises intrinsic, values-driven motivation over pressure, ultimatums, or shame, ensuring change is self-sustaining and long-lasting.
• Practitioner Self-Awareness & Regulation: Helps you inspect your own nervous system, manage the "need to be needed," and protect your window of tolerance through reflective practice.
• Practical Toolkit Included: Walk away with ready-to-use "Curiosity Sentence Starters," the DARN CATs framework for change talk, and purposeful communication models.

Programme structure

This module forms part of the full PACE suite and is designed to deepen relational communication skills once the PACE mindset is securely embedded. Completing the full programme supports consistent, trauma-informed communication across teams and services.

Who this training is for

Our PACE for Professionals suite is suitable for a wide range of roles working with children and young people who have experienced trauma or disrupted attachment. Annual refreshers are recommended to support reflective practice and prevent drift under pressure.

This training is suitable for:

• Social Workers: Case managers, safeguarding and community-based roles

• Caregivers: Residential care staff, foster carers, adoptive and kinship carers

• Mental Health Professionals: Therapists, counsellors and clinical practitioners

• Educators: (Please also see "PACE for Schools") Teachers, school counselors, and special education professionals.

• Birth Parents: Please refer instead to "PACE for Parents"

⚠️ This is workforce development training. Some content may be emotionally challenging and is not suitable for addressing individual therapeutic needs within a group setting.

What others say

You can read feedback from professionals who have attended our training HERE.

Format, CPD & Resources

• Delivery: Live training via Zoom

• Format: Taught input, small group work, paired activities and whole-group discussion

CPD Suitability

This training is suitable for Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Participants receive a certificate of attendance and reflection prompts to support CPD recording in line with Social Work England guidance and similar professional frameworks.

• Resources: A PDF of the course slides is included. Access to an extensive resource library can be purchased separately.

Those wishing to pursue formal certification in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) or to further explore PACE in action are invited to visit the founder’s website.