The Kaleidoscope Model

"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 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:

the developmental progression of growth, maturation and learning capacity as life unfolds;
the temperament of the child that shapes reactions and interactions;
the interplay between the individual child and the family system in which he/she forms and grows;
the 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.

The ABCD of Self-Care

Thinking of therapy in terms of Kaleidoscope Model affords clients and professionals a shared language that leads to future-orientation, promote hope and motivation to try alternatives, and help clients to reframe their past-future connection in terms that are empowering. It can be as simple as ABCD:

Advocacy: Knowing our own thoughts and feelings, expressing them in ways that are mindful that others have the same rights
Boundaries: Knowing and managing what influences/affects us, recognizing the signs of boundary violations, respecting other people’s personal space.
Choosing well: Making good decisions, weighing pros and cons, anticipating outcome and consequences, being proactive instead of reactive.
Dignity: Self and other respect, knowing one’s values, valuing oneself.

The techniques we use to help clients heal and learn come from a variety of sources, because what each person needs is different and there is no "one size fits all" approach. However, the choice of methods comes from our understanding, in collaboration with the client, of what they need most to regain control over the direction of their lives. The process of arriving at this shared understanding is what makes the Pathways approach unique.