"The best description of the Pathways approach to therapy is the Kaleidoscope.
When you look into the tube of a kaleidoscope, it has a definite pattern, and if you
stay frozen, never move, it seems to be the only pattern possible. But a little movement,
and voila! — everything looks different! The pieces are the same, but all of a sudden,
they form something new. I want people to be able to see their emotional pain, their mental
anguish as a reflection of the philosophy of life or world view that limits their options for
coping and growing, and this philosophy is in turn is a reflection of what they learned about
surviving, even thriving, in the world in which they grew up."
— Dr. Sunaina Jain, Founder and Clinical Director, Pathways Transitions Program
Evolution of the Kaleidoscope Model
The questions that shaped the mission and vision of Pathways Transition Programs arose from
Dr. Sunaina Jain’s experience working with children and families:
- How do people maintain balance when facing life’s challenges?
- How can high-quality professional help be made available to children and families from
different backgrounds and with varying access to services?
- How do people view their own lives and how can we help their worldview shift enough to open up options outside their long-held beliefs?
The Kaleidoscope Model focuses on health and skills, not pathology and the burden of personal history. The issue is how to help people learn the skills they missed out on while they were growing up and coping with some things that are not conducive to healthy adjustment. Dr. Jain and the Pathways team operate within a framework that brings together some of the most important dimensions of our psychological lives:
- Developmental progression of growth, maturation and learning capacity as life unfolds
- Temperament of the child that shapes reactions and interactions
- Interplay between the individual child and the family system in which he/she forms and grows
- Nature of the attachment between child and caregiver
- How our attachment history continues to shape our relationships and expectations throughout our
lives
- How we learn to self-regulate and manage our emotions and needs
- How our sense of Self develops and guides us throughout our lives, telling us who we
"are" and "are not" what we accept and what we reject
We are committed to understanding how the world looks to the person living the life in question, to understanding their behaviors as their best attempt to take care of themselves and the people they care about, that is to say, to maintain equilibrium on uneven ground and still move forward.