Frequently Used Approaches

This page contains information on some commonly used approaches within our service. An Educational Psychologist may suggest viewing this page before completing specific work within the setting.

What is a PATH?

PATH is a creative planning tool that uses both process and graphic facilitation to create a shared vision of a positive future for individuals, families, teams and whole organisations. PATH draws on people's ability to visualise different futures and to plan backwards from a future vision or dream and tell stories about how that vision can come into being. The PATH session will be led by two trained facilitators - a process facilitator who guides people through the stages and ensures that the person is at the centre throughout, and a graphic facilitator who creates a large graphic (pictures and words) record of each of the steps in the PATH.

The key outcomes of a PATH are as follows:

  • A shared vision within the group of a positive future for the pathfinder
  • A commitment to invest in moving towards this future
  • A sense of how to do this

There are 6 steps in the PATH process. A typical PATH usually involves a group of 5-10 individuals made up of the pathfinder (or focus person) and their family, friends and other professionals and support workers who know the focus person well. A PATH usually lasts for 90 minutes (this can be longer with larger groups) Each of the 6 steps in the PATH process has its own particular questions and conversations associated with it.

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