Pathways Developmental Services is a counseling & mental health agency based in Hampton Roads, Virginia treating adults, adolescents, children,individuals, couples & families, including groups & substance abuse assessments.

Therapeutic Day Treatment Services

The Pathways Developmental Services, Inc. T.D.T. program approach involves an innovative utilization of existing human services staff and resources directly into the Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities for the benefit of clients and families in need of services. Staff members from our agency are “repositioned” throughout Metro Hampton Roads (School Based, Home Based & Community Based) to form multi-disciplinary teams who will serve a manageable number of at-risk clients. This new human services delivery system emphasizes personalized, accountability, and teamwork. The individualized, coordinated, and integrated team effort gives each client and family many of the services needed to solve social, educational, mental health, and emotional problems that impede community success.

Out-Patient Services

Animal-Assisted Therapy: (approximately 45 mins):

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a relatively new field of study, although the human-animal bond has existed for thousands of years. AAT is a type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. The goal of AAT is to improve a patient’s social, emotional, or cognitive functioning. Animals can also be useful for educational and motivational effectiveness for participants.

Animals can be used in a variety of settings – prisons, nursing homes, mental institutions and hospitals, in the home, and in society. They are always analyzed for internal and external parasites before therapy can begin.

Animals are tools for therapy because they can make people feel safe and loved when they have been deprived of social interaction or hurt by other people. They do not communicate with words, and so patients afraid of approaching people can comfortably approach an animal. Additionally, a therapist who brings along a pet is viewed as being less dangerous by the patient, and so the previously uncommunicative patient is willing to share more with the professional. Animals commonly used for therapy include dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, and other small animals.

Employee Assistance Programs (10- 50 min sessions):

Pathways Developmental Services Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are employee benefit programs offered by many employers, typically in conjunction with a health insurance plan. EAPs are intended to help employees deal with personal problems that might adversely impact their work performance, health, and well-being. EAPs generally include assessment, short-term counseling and referral services for employees and their household members.

Employees and their household members may use EAPs to help manage issues in their work and personal lives. EAP counselors typically provide assessment, support, and, if needed, referrals to additional resources. The issues for which EAPs provide support vary, but examples include:

• substance abuse
• safe working environment
• emotional distress
• major life events, including births, accidents and deaths
• health care concerns
• financial or legal concerns
• family/personal relationship issues
• work relationship issues
• concerns about aging parents

Pathways Developmental Services EAP's services are usually free to the employee and their household member, having been pre-paid by the employer. In most cases, an employer contracts with a third-party company to manage its EAP. Some of these companies rely upon other vendors or contracted employees for specialized services to supplement their own services, such as: financial advisors, attorneys, travel agents, elder/child care specialists, and the like.

At Pathways confidentiality is maintained in accordance with privacy laws and ethical standards.

Some studies indicate that offering EAPs may result in various benefits for employers, including lower medical costs, reduced turnover and absenteeism, and higher employee productivity. Critics of these studies question the scientific validity of their findings, noting small sample sizes, lack of experimental control groups, and lack of standardized measures as primary concerns. Proponents, however, argue that the consistency of positive findings across studies in different service sectors denote at least some positive effect of programs, even if the most effective components of such programs have not been determined.

The provision of employee assistance services has established business benefits, including increased productivity of employees (termed "presenteeism") and decreased absenteeism.

Executive Counseling/Coaching: (approximately 50 minutes):

The mission of the Life Coaching & Crisis Management Division of Pathways Developmental Services, Inc. is to provide coaching, support, clinical therapy, and crisis intervention to executives, celebrities and professional athletes.

In our current celebrity industry, be it music, televisions, movies, or professional sports there are many people that find themselves coming into an arena that provides instant wealth, notoriety, influence and pressure. However the pressures of having to manage this life out in the public eye, as well as the challenges of maintaining a healthy emotional balance can be overwhelming. Pathways Developmental Services, Inc. provides private, exclusive, and highly confidential clinical services to celebrities as well as professional athletes. One can access Pathways Developmental Services, Inc. offices on the East Coast or anyone of our professional staff can be flown in anywhere in the world if needed for clinical crisis intervention.

Individual Counseling/Family Counseling: (approximately 50 minutes)

The mission of the counseling division of Pathways Developmental Services is to provide clinical therapy to those that are seeking solutions to life challenges and stressful situations. Often these situations may cause stress, anxiety, depression and feeling overwhelmed. Pathways Developmental Services therapeutic modality of choice is usually cognitive behavioral therapy to include resiliency factors however, we individualize our services to meet the clients’ needs. The method has been proven, if you change your thinking process, you will inevitably change the behavior. Pathways Developmental Services, Inc. provides private, exclusive, and highly confidential clinical services.

Outpatient Counseling

The mission of Outpatient Counseling at Pathways Developmental Services is to provide clinical therapy to those that are seeking solutions to life challenges and stressful situations. Often these situations may cause anxiety, depression extreme stress and feeling overwhelmed. At Pathways Developmental Services, our therapeutic modality of choice is usually cognitive behavioral therapy to include resiliency factors however, we customize our services to meet the individual clients’ needs.

• Individual and Family Counseling
• Marriage Counseling
• Spiritual Growth and Development (Bible Based)
• Addictions & Anger Management Counseling
• Crisis Response Counseling
• Art Therapy
• ASAP & Substance Abuse Groups
• Stress, Anxiety and Depression Counseling

And much more!

Spiritual Advice: Spiritual Growth and Development: (approximately 50 minutes):

The focus of this service involves pastoral care and counseling to youth and adults, individual or groups, to receive psycho-educational counseling addressing issues and the beginning the process of mending and healing. We can help bring conclusions and concerns of past relationships and situations so that you can be able to move forward with a healthier future. We provide spiritual guidance by pointing you to biblical text and provide you with wisdom keys. The wisdom keys can be applied to every area of life including relationships, work, school, and your finances. Adult and Youth Services are available. Pathways Developmental Services, Inc. provides private, exclusive, and highly confidential clinical services.

Substance Abuse Counseling: (approximately 50 minutes):

Substance abuse is a problem that affects not just the abusers but also their families and friends. People with addictions are often multiply diagnosed with mental and physical health problems, from obsessive compulsive disorder to HIV/AIDS and depression. Pathways Developmental Services, Certified Substance Abuse Counselors work closely with them to identify reasons for their behavior and support them in taking the steps to change and remedy it.

Pathways Developmental Services, Certified Substance Abuse Counselors work in a variety of community settings, such as drug detoxification centers, inpatient drug rehabilitation programs within hospitals and clinics, residential therapeutic communities, half-way houses, correctional institutions, methadone maintenance programs, partial hospitalization or day programs, out-patient counseling programs, and employee assistance programs. Pathways Developmental Services, Certified Substance Abuse Counselors typically work as part of a team of caregivers that needs to be available around-the-clock to patients. Pathways Developmental Services, Inc. provides private, exclusive, and highly confidential clinical services.

TeleCounseling/Online Counseling/eTharapy: (45 mins/250 words typed):

TeleCounseling/Online Counseling/eTharapy is a new way to “see” a therapist. Use of the Internet allows us to make available therapists at most any time or location.

Online counseling means that someone is always there when you need to talk. We offer three types of sessions with licensed professionals.

• Private Online Chat - Chat live, online, one to one.
• Phone Counseling - Your therapist will call you.
• Email Sessions - Receive your email response within 2 days.

Just as cell phones, email, chat, etc. have changed how we communicate with each other, online counseling (or e-counseling) is a growing trend taking advantage of these tools to connect with counselors regardless of where they are.

Trauma Response Counseling: (approximately 50 minutes):

This service is to provide Crisis Assessments, Counseling and interventions to schools, governments communities and families throughout the country that find themselves as victims of a traumatic event. In our current times we are seeing an increase in traumatic events. Unfortunately violence is on the rise and as a result people are walking around wounded. Untreated trauma can result in a clinical diagnosis of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). However it can also encompass anxiety or other depressive behavioral symptoms such as self injury, substance abuse, impaired interpersonal trust and affective instability. For these reasons it is critical that one reach out for assistance as soon as a traumatic event occurs. Examples of Trauma: Abuse; Domestic Violence, Witness Violent Crime; Sever accident; Natural Disaster; Sudden Death; War or Terrorism. Pathways Developmental Services, Inc. provides private, exclusive, and highly confidential clinical services.