Working with children who have experienced relational trauma requires more than good intentions. It requires a fundamentally different way of being with them, one that communicates safety, connection, and unconditional acceptance at every turn. DDP PACE training provides carers and professionals with exactly that: a grounded, practical, and deeply human approach to building trust with children whose early experiences have made trust feel dangerous.
What is DDP PACE and Where Did It Come From?
PACE stands for Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, and Empathy. It was developed by Dr Dan Hughes, the founder of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), as a central component of the DDP framework. The approach is grounded in attachment theory, neuroscience, and the concept of intersubjectivity, and is modelled on the kind of attuned, responsive interactions that occur between securely attached parents and their infants. What makes PACE distinctive is that it is not a set of techniques to be applied but a way of thinking, feeling, communicating, and behaving that adults develop over time.
Who is DDP PACE Training Designed For?
DDP PACE training is open to anyone who cares for or works with children who have experienced relational trauma. Adoptive parents, foster carers, and kinship carers are among the most common participants, alongside residential workers, education practitioners, therapists, social workers, and support staff. No prior clinical qualifications are required for introductory PACE training, making it accessible to the full range of adults in a child’s network.
The Core Content: What DDP PACE Training Covers
PACE training begins with a thorough grounding in developmental trauma: what it is, how it affects a child’s brain, behaviour, and capacity for relationships, and why children who have experienced abuse, neglect, or disruption develop the defensive strategies they do. Understanding that challenging behaviour is a survival response rather than a character flaw is one of the most significant shifts the training facilitates. From there, participants are introduced to each element of PACE, how the four components work together, and how they can be applied consistently in everyday interactions, difficult moments, and moments of connection. The neuroscience of safety, co-regulation, and attachment is woven throughout, giving participants a clear rationale for why PACE works rather than simply being told that it does.
Playfulness
Playfulness in PACE is not about being funny or deflecting difficult emotions. It is about creating an atmosphere of lightness and connection that communicates hope and safety to a child who may have given up on both. Using a warm, story-telling tone rather than a corrective or lecturing voice, playfulness can gently disrupt a child’s anxiety response and open them to connection. Training explores how to bring playfulness into everyday interactions and how a light touch in low-level difficult moments can prevent escalation and keep the relationship intact.
Acceptance
Acceptance in PACE means actively communicating to the child that their inner world, their feelings, thoughts, wishes, and perceptions, is accepted unconditionally, even when their behaviour is not. This distinction is central to the approach. Many children who have experienced trauma expect rejection, criticism, and judgment. Consistent acceptance disrupts that expectation over time, reducing shame and defensiveness and creating the conditions in which the child can begin to trust. Training explores the language and responses that convey genuine acceptance in both calm and highly charged moments.
Curiosity
Curiosity in PACE is the non-judgemental wondering about the meaning and experience behind a child’s behaviour. Rather than asking “why did you do that?” in a tone that demands explanation, a curious adult wonders aloud: “I wonder what was going on for you then.” This subtle but powerful shift communicates that the adult is trying to understand rather than to judge. Training builds the skill of staying curious under pressure, particularly in situations where a child’s behaviour is provocative or distressing.
Empathy
Empathy in PACE means being with the child in their distress rather than trying to fix or minimise it. It communicates that the child does not have to face difficult feelings alone and that the adult can hold those feelings alongside them without being overwhelmed. Training helps participants distinguish empathy from sympathy, and practise empathic responses that connect rather than dismiss. Co-regulation through empathy is one of the most powerful tools available for helping traumatised children gradually develop their own capacity for emotional regulation.
Training Format and What to Expect
DDP PACE training is available as a one-day introductory course or a multi-day Core training, both covering the essential concepts. Training is delivered experientially through discussion, case examples, video demonstrations, and role play, giving participants the opportunity to practise the approach in a supported environment. On completion of a Core training of two days or more, participants receive a certificate. From there, those who wish to develop further can progress to DDP Level One training, where the principles and skills introduced in PACE are deepened within the full DDP clinical framework.
Next Steps
DDP PACE training equips the adults around traumatised children with a coherent, evidence-informed way of being that can transform relationships over time. Whether you are a foster carer, a teacher, a residential worker, or a therapist, PACE offers a shared language and a consistent approach that helps children feel safer, trust more, and begin to heal.