NeXT STePS TOGeTHeR
Our Team
Who We Are
Next Steps Together (NeST) is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company which operates the Tumbly Hill Health & Wellbeing Hub in Kingsbridge, South Devon.
We support people through life’s changes - including those living with memory loss, dementia, neurodivergence, grief and other emotional or cognitive challenges.
Our work blends professional insight with lived experience. We create safe, inclusive spaces where people can access timely support that is thoughtful, grounded and person-centred.
Director
Suzi Garrod
CEO & Founder
Short description
Laura Darvell
Director
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Dr. Steve Smith
Facilities Manager
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Anderson McCammont
Data Analyst
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Nicola Coverley
Catering Consultant
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Our Practice Locations
Our therapy sessions are available in indoor (clinic-based) settings or outdoor (nature-based) settings and online.
In the Clinic
Our therapy room is based on the first floor of the Age Concern Centre in Kingsbridge, and is available for Next Steps appointments on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The room is only accessible via the stairs at present however, there are plans to install a stair lift by the end of 2021 to make it accessible to people with mobility issues. We are sometimes able to book one of the downstairs dining/workshop rooms in the early evening for clients who are unable to use the stairs. Please let us know if you would like to consider this option so that we can book the room in advance.
The Next Steps counselling room provides a warm and welcoming atmosphere in which to safely explore the issues you are experiencing, with comfortable chairs, soft lighting and even a therapy couch for somatic therapy sessions. We have a large range of miniature figures and objects to use as part of sand tray therapy, as well as creative materials for art therapy, and sound healing tools such as tuning forks and singing bowls to assist with meditation, breathwork, and relaxation techniques. These and other therapeutic techniques can be seamlessly incorporated into our talk therapy sessions to expand on any thoughts, feelings, or insights you might experience during our work together.
In the Woods
We have 3 wooded areas available for use as ecotherapy sessions, with easy access and parking available nearby. Depending on your therapeutic requirements, we can simply walk and talk along the woodland paths or choose to actively incorporate elements of the environment such as the trees, flowers, river, fallen logs etc within our sessions to help explore specific emotions or create personal rituals.
On the Beach
We regularly use 3 beaches in the area for ecotherapy sessions (one of which is tide dependent), but also have access to several more beaches within a short driving distance of our Centre. As with other outdoor counselling sessions, we might choose to focus purely on walk and talk along the beach or coastal path. Sometimes we might sit in quiet reflection and practice mindfulness or breathing techniques. Alternatively, we could incorporate the environmental elements of the beach itself such as pebbles, sand, rocks, driftwood, shells, the water, sea breeze etc to specifically explore emotions or issues you are experiencing.
Online
Online therapy incorporates both telephone and internet-based counselling sessions, with video sessions available through Zoom or Microsoft Teams for clients across the UK.
As face-to-face sessions were severely restricted during the Covid-19 lockdowns, online therapy has become increasingly popular over the last 12 months. It offers an accessible and flexible option for therapeutic support which often fits more easily around clients’ work and family schedules.
Our Therapeutic Approach
The Next Steps team of therapists and group facilitators follows a pluralistic or integrative approach, drawing from a broad range of therapy modalities to help you navigate your feelings.
These therapeutic approaches include Person-Centred, Gestalt, CBT, EFT, NLP, Trauma-Informed, Solution-Focused, Ecotherapy and Group therapy. Mindfulness meditation, breath work, somatic therapy techniques and trauma-informed yoga are also available (either 1-to-1 or small groups).
Due to the unique and ever-changing nature of each person’s grief journey, we believe that the flexible, collaborative and client-goal oriented tenets of pluralistic counselling and psychotherapy are ideally suited to helping clients who are facing end-of-life, bereavement and loss.
Please click on the modalities listed below for further information on how we may work together.
Modalities
This approach is based on the idea that there are certain therapeutic conditions which are the key to successful personal growth. Most counsellors will have learnt about the ideas of Carl Rogers, who emphasised the importance of the counsellor being warm, empathic, non-judgmental, and non –directive. A client in ‘pure’ person-centred counselling is particularly likely to feel accepted, supported and encouraged.
CBT has become very well known as a treatment of choice within the NHS for symptoms of anxiety and depression. It seeks to change distressing behaviour relatively quickly by challenging unhelpful thoughts and beliefs and teaching the client to use coping strategies in the future. It aims to be ‘scientific’ by assessing and measuring change and does not prioritise finding original causes or exploring hidden potential. People with compulsive and obsessive disorders, fears, phobias and addictions tend to benefit from this type of therapy. Cognitive-behavioural therapists believe that while it is important to have a good, trusting relationship, but that is not enough in itself. A willingness to do homework tasks in between sessions is considered very important.
Gestalt therapy places a lot of emphasis on helping the client understand their non-verbal and body language, here-and-now behaviour, and potential for positive change. The client will be encouraged, and sometimes challenged, to accept responsibility for his or her actions, decisions, and feelings. It is likely to be suited to people who are willing to try to do this. Modern Gestalt therapy is not, however, necessarily a ‘confrontational’ approach.
The theory of NLP is broken down into three layers:
- Neuro involves creating our own mental map of the world.
- Linguistic involves how we each give meaning to the information.
- Programming involves how we respond to the meaning we have given to information.
NLP techniques are often used to bring about change and improve our personal growth, development, and performance.
This kind of therapy focuses on a particular issue and promotes positive change, rather than dwelling on the issue or past problems. You are encouraged to focus positively on what you do well, your strengths and resources and to set goals to achieve the changes you want to make. It is likely to appeal to people who prefer a highly practical, goal-oriented approach to problem-solving.
Ecotherapy can take place in both rural and urban settings, including parks, gardens, beaches, and woodlands. It is an umbrella term for a nature-based approach to psychotherapy and has become a term that is used to describe the positive effects that contact with nature can have on mental health.
Group therapy refers to a wide range of therapy in which individual clients participate in the work of others in group meetings. At Next Steps we offer 3 support groups which are:
- for clients with a life-limiting diagnosis who wish to explore their feelings around death with other people who are dying.
We call this support group our Next Steps to Living with Dying Group
- for clients who are experiencing anticipatory grief when someone they care for is dying.
We call this our Next Steps to Pre-Bereavement Group
- for clients who have experienced a bereavement (either recently or in the past) who wish to explore their experiences around grief and loss with other bereaved people.
We call this support group our Next Steps to Bereavement Support Group
Group therapy can help you explore your feelings with other people who are experiencing similar difficulties as you. It is often most effective when the group therapist is also the individual therapist of the clients in the group however, this is not a pre-requisite for joining. Support groups often enable people to reach even deeper into their issues, especially when shared insights and experiences highlight commonalities within the group. Members often find that a support group offers a space in which deeply meaningful and mutually supportive connections can evolve.