Future Steps
Future Steps began in 2013, whilst Julie Davis was on holiday with her family in Stratford. Julie’s dream was to set up a service that could offer therapeutic intervention to all children, with motor and sensory difficulties, regardless of their socioeconomic background, by creating a model that allows our therapist to fully integrate into education provisions. Future Steps is a specialised paediatric occupational therapy consultancy based in the North East of England, dedicated to supporting children reach their full potential physically, socially and academically.
We offer a range of services including assessments, treatments and programmes for the home and school environments. Future steps is built on the passion and work ethic of our staff. Our dedicated and fully qualified team of occupational therapists are committed to making positive changes to the lives of every child and family that we treat. With goal orientated treatments and programmes tailored to each child’s specific needs, Future Steps Occupational Therapy can help develop a child’s motor and sensory systems so that the child’s gross and fine motor skills, handwriting, perception, self-esteem, confidence and behaviour improve.
Future steps strongly believe in training and supporting the parents, carers and educators of the children we treat. We aim to help you understand your child’s challenges, reduce the feeling of isolation and enable you to support your child’s treatment at home. We run regular training and support groups and actively encourage you to take part in clinic treatment sessions. We are here to support and guide you through the process from very first contact.
Simone Silver Path
Who am I?
I am a psychotherapist/trainer, Senior Accredited BACP (British Association of
Counselling and Psychotherapy), offering psychotherapeutic support to young
people and their families/carers. I also offer therapeutic training to residential
workers in children’s homes, foster carers, teachers and other staff members
working with children and young people. I am the founder of the Coventina
School of Wilderness Psychotherapy and have trained hundreds of students
over the years. I was manager of a children and young people’s psychotherapy
project for fifteen years, working with a team of therapists and psychologists.
We worked with children and young people who had experienced child sexual
abuse and trauma. I have over thirty years experience of working with children
and young people who face severe challenges in their lives and many who
present with challenging behaviour.
I do not believe it is my job to fix or change young people but that given the
right conditions of empathy, respect and deep listening, young people will be
empowered to make positive choices for their own lives
Interventions at Embleton View
Holding the Space is a unique therapeutic intervention that has been
successfully used in residential children’s homes in Sunderland, Scotland and in
Oxford. This way of working has also been introduced into schools and prisons.
Holding the Space has been researched by Strathclyde University and shown to
have outstanding positive outcomes for young people and staff in residential
homes. The copyright of Holding the Space belongs to the Coventina School of
Wilderness Therapy, Northumberland.
The work with young people and staff would use the following creative arts
therapeutic methods;
- Council – A group therapy way of working which encourages deep listening
skills, emotional literacy, empathy and community. This way of working helps
young people with attachment problems to find a safe way of making a healthy attachment to the community and so improves outcomes for education and
learning. - Art Therapy – A non-verbal way of expressing feelings and emotions.
- Story Telling and Myth Making – A powerful way in which young people can
develop their creativity and have their own stories heard and affirmed. - Creative Writing – Helping young people to find the words to create poetry and
written stories that express their inner world. - Drama – Movement and voice work, enabling young people to experience
change through their physical body and well as psychological change. - Wilderness Psychotherapy – A way of young people placing themselves in a
bigger landscape and enabling then to find a sense of belonging
Holding the Space
Holding the Space is a unique therapeutic intervention that has been successfully used in residential children’s homes in Sunderland, Scotland and Oxford. This way of working has also been introduced into schools and prisons.
Holding the Space has been researched by Strathclyde University and shown to have outstanding positive outcomes for young people and staff in residential homes. The copyright of Holding the Space belongs to the Coventina School of Wilderness Therapy, Northumberland.
Embleton View staff use interventions following creative arts therapeutic methods;
- Council – a group therapy way of working which encourages deep listening skills, emotional literacy, empathy and community. This way of working helps young people with attachment problems to find a safe way of making a healthy attachment to the community and so improves outcomes for education and learning.
- Art Therapy – a non-verbal way of expressing feelings and emotions.
- Story Telling and Myth Making – a powerful way in which young people can develop their creativity and have their own stories heard and affirmed.
- Creative Writing – helping young people to find the words to create poetry and written stories that express their inner world.
- Wilderness Psychotherapy – a way of young people placing themselves in a bigger landscape and enabling them to find a sense of belonging and direction in the world.
Intended Outcomes for Students:
- Improvement in relationships with staff and peers
- Reduced escalation of challenging behaviour leading to critical incidents
- Increase in school attendance
- Improvement in the ability to learn
- Healthy attachment patterns emerging
- Expectations and promoting achievement
Education Psychology
We utilise our partner Educational Pshycologist (EP) to explore the following areas:
- How students interact with peers and staff
- Movement around classroom
- Time attending to tasks
- Identification of distractions
- Behaviours when distracted
- Non-verbal communication
- Triggers for behaviour
- Mood
Once the work is complete we seek guidance from the EP. The EP provides us with strategies and resources from their assessment of the student.
Working With…
