Trauma-Informed Care (with Acceptance from PACE)(3/5): OPEN COURSE

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

This transformative training module equips practitioners and carers with a deep, neurobiologically grounded understanding of trauma, attachment, and the critical role of Acceptance, a foundational pillar of the PACE mindset. Grounded in cutting-edge neuroscience (including the Polyvagal framework, brain development, and the Window of Tolerance), this course reveals how chronic stress reshapes the mind, body, and nervous system.

Participants will explore how to look past surface behaviours to address unmet needs, dismantle corrosive shame cycles, and build the regulating, attuned relationships necessary for healing.

Key Learning Aims

• Neurobiology & Nervous System: Understand how complex childhood trauma alters brain architecture, stress hormone levels, and the body’s threat-detection systems.
• Decoding Behaviour: Reframe challenging behaviour as a survival-driven form of communication and a reflection of nervous system arousal.
• The Window of Tolerance & Co-Regulation: Master practical grounding and de-escalation strategies across Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn responses.
• Shame vs. Guilt: Differentiate between corrosive self-shame and healthy guilt, learning how to dismantle shame defences (Blame, Lie, Minimise, Rage) with compassion.
• Acceptance in Action: Discover how fully receiving a child's inner world, without judgment or dismissal, builds security while maintaining essential, protective boundaries.
• Building Cumulative Resilience: Apply evidence-based tools (somatic grounding, trauma-sensitive mindfulness, and narrative work) to foster lasting agency and emotional literacy.

Why Choose This Course?

• Grounded in Science, Delivered for Practice: We bridge complex theoretical frameworks such as Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Perry’s Neurosequential Model into clear, practical strategies you can use immediately.
• Actionable Frameworks: Gain access to ready-to-use tools, including the Window of Tolerance Worksheet and the Brighton & Hove "Just Right" Arousal Framework.
• Relational Focus: Learn how to separate a child’s intrinsic worth from their behavior, giving you the skills to remain a regulating, compassionate anchor even during high-distress moments.
• Comprehensive PACE Perspective: Formally integrates Acceptance as part of the broader PACE approach to help rewrite a child's internal working model.

Programme structure

This module forms part of the full PACE suite and is designed to deepen relational competence once the PACE mindset is securely established. Undertaking the full programme supports consistent, trauma-informed practice and reduces the risk of fragmented or unsafe application.

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 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 a comprehensive 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.