Bespoke Guardians Canada
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Our Approach

Relationship first. Everything else follows.

Our practice is trauma-informed and relationship-based, aligned with Alberta’s Child Intervention Practice Framework and grounded in Dyadic Developmental Practice, the PACE model and therapeutic crisis intervention.

The PACE model

Four qualities in every interaction

PACE is how our staff show up, day in, day out, for young people who have learned that adults can’t always be trusted.

Playfulness

Lightness and warmth that lower defences and remind a child that connection can feel safe.

Acceptance

Unconditional regard for the child beneath the behaviour, no judgement, no conditions.

Curiosity

Wondering “what’s driving this?” instead of reacting, understanding before responding.

Empathy

Staying alongside a young person in their hardest feelings, so they never carry them alone.

How we work

Behaviour is communication.

When a young person struggles, we don’t just ask “how do we stop this?” We ask “what is this telling us?” That shift, from control to curiosity, changes everything.

  • Safety first. Physical and emotional safety is the foundation of every therapeutic gain.
  • Consistency and predictability that help a dysregulated child feel secure.
  • Repair, not rupture. When things go wrong, we reconnect, modelling healthy relationships.
  • Reflective practice and supervision keeping our staff grounded and effective.
Curiosity over control
Good to know

Approach & practice, answered

It means we understand that a child’s behaviour is communication, often a response to past adversity. Instead of simply managing behaviour, we look for the need beneath it, and respond with safety, empathy and consistency rather than control.
Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP) is a therapeutic model for building trust with children affected by trauma and broken attachments. PACE, Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy, is the everyday attitude our staff bring to every interaction.
We meet it with curiosity, not confrontation. Our staff are trained in de-escalation and therapeutic crisis intervention to keep everyone safe and understand what a young person is telling us, so incidents become opportunities to build trust rather than break it.
The Child Intervention Practice Framework is built on relationships, and so are we. We align our planning, recording and decision-making with your caseworker and the wider team around the child, and we keep culture, family and community at the centre.
We work to keep every young person connected to their family, community and culture, and we partner respectfully with families and Delegated First Nations Agencies. Our care is designed to respect and reflect the culture, language and spirituality of the children we serve.
Always. We see ourselves as an extension of your team. We share information openly, contribute to planning, and align our practice with the wider network around the child.
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See our approach in action.

The best way to understand how we work is to talk to us about a young person you’re supporting.

Make a referral Talk to our team