PACE Mindset (1/5) – OPEN COURSE

PACE for Professionals – Module One: The PACE Mindset

This is the first instalment of our five-part PACE for Professionals training programme. All participants must complete this module before attending the remaining four.

This module does not provide full practical competence in all four PACE elements. To support meaningful, consistent implementation, we strongly recommend booking all five modules.

Children who have experienced abuse, neglect, and developmental trauma need more than traditional behaviour management, they need relational safety. Developed by Dr. Daniel A. Hughes, PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, and Empathy) is a transformative way of being that helps traumatised children heal and build secure attachments.

Delivered across five modules, this comprehensive programme connects neurobiology, attachment theory, Polyvagal theory, and practical de-escalation strategies. Participants will learn to look beyond surface behaviours, rewire neural pathways through attuned caregiving, and build structured Behaviour Support Plans that foster long-term recovery.

Key Learning Objectives

By completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Embody the PACE Framework: Apply Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, and Empathy to deactivate threat responses and create genuine relational safety.
• Understand Neurobiology & Polyvagal Theory: Recognise how autonomic nervous system states (Ventral, Sympathetic, Dorsal Vagal) drive survival states and shape learning and behaviour.
• Reframe Behaviour as Communication: Transition from traditional "Connection before Correction" approaches, decoding the hidden attachment needs behind challenging behaviours.
• Master Rupture & Repair: Utilise clinical repair protocols to rebuild trust and connection following relational disconnections.
• Build Effective Behaviour Support Plans: Translate functional assessments into clear, practical strategies across Green (Proactive), Amber (Warning), Red (Reactive), and Blue (Post-Incident) stages.
• Manage Compassion Fatigue: Develop personal self-regulation techniques and sustainable strategies to prevent practitioner burnout.

Why Choose This Course?

• Evidence-Based & Practice-Focused: Grounded in leading clinical research including Dan Hughes’ Brain-Based Parenting, Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory, and the Secure Base Model.
• Shifts the Caregiving Paradigm: Moves practice away from punitive consequence models toward brain-based, co-regulatory methods that address the root causes of trauma.
• Holistic 5-Module Structure: Offers a complete developmental pathway from foundational trauma awareness to advanced de-escalation and practitioner wellbeing.

Who this training is for

Our PACE 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 back to less relational responses under pressure.

• Social Workers: Case managers, child welfare workers, and community organisers.
• Caregivers: Residential workers, care home staff, Foster carers, adoptive parents, and kinship caregivers.
• Mental Health Professionals: Therapists, counselors & social workers.
• Educators: Also see "PACE for Schools" - Teachers, school counsellors, and special education professionals.
• Birth Parents: Use "PACE for Parents" instead.

⚠️ This is workforce development training and does not provide individual therapy. Some content may be emotionally challenging. It is not suitable for exploring personal 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 downloadable PDF version of the course slides is included. A full resource library can be purchased separately.

Those seeking to be certified in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) or to further explore PACE in action are invited to visit the founder's website.