Founders and Directors
Helen Bradley
Founder, Director, Facilitator
Primary Teacher and Breathwork Practitioner
Life steered me in a new direction in 2020 when I founded Pathways to Resilience with Samanta.
I had been working since 2001 as a primary school teacher and had always been passionate about nurturing the whole child. I taught all year groups over the years and spent most time in Year R and as a Leading Foundation Stage Practitioner for Hampshire LEA. I loved the focus on personal, social and emotional development in the early years, which in my view, is desperately missing from the curriculum in other year groups.
Meeting Samanta came shortly after I found my calling. An unexpected and extraordinary Breathwork experience at a festival lead me to retrain as a certified Breathwork practitioner, and where I met our other director, Helen. I’d spent years trying to ‘feel ok’ again after a serious illness in 2010. I’d tried so many different tools to feel well but Breathwork gave me the tool I needed to calm my busy, worrying mind and finally settle my nervous system. I learnt so much and also had so many questions … Why don’t we all know about this life changing tool? Why do we wait till we experience a life challenge to learn about this? Why don’t we teach children this?
Samanta, Helen and I have both worked in schools, we have skills that compliment each other and we share a passion and vision for supporting more children than our private practices can reach. Over time, we have carefully created and developed a children and adolescent programme rooted in Breathwork and Positive Psychology with the aim of doing what we can to prevent the rise in childhood anxiety by sharing these tools at the earliest possible age.
The impact of our Children and Adolescent Programme is palpable; first hand, we hear about their experiences of using the tools to deal with their challenges, they sleep better, have ways to deal with overwhelm and know that it’s normal to feel the full range of emotions.
After our first programme, we were asked to run a parent workshop to share what we cover with parents and shortly after that were asked to deliver training at local primary schools.
This project is much needed and we go about the topic of resilience in a playful way - full of fun and joy.
My dream is for this work to spread UK wide; to train facilitators to run the programmes and workshops in their local communities and to raise funding to make these programmes accessible to ALL children and families.
This is such important work. Tools that can be useful to young children, can be vital during the teenage years and can prove invaluable for adult life.
Credentials: Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), Certified Breathwork Practitioner, Enhanced DBS, Safeguarding Certificate, First Aider, Mental Health First Aider, Fully Insured
Samanta Echo
Founder, Director, Facilitator
Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist
and Conscious Parenting Guide
I have now practiced as a Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist for 10 years, with a successful and busy private practice in Hampshire, after working within both mainstream and Specialist schools in different mental health supportive roles for many years. I combine my passion for the healing power of creativity along with a long-held commitment to the emotional, psychological and spiritual wellbeing of children. My practice is based on the Therapeutic Arts, a specialized area of mental health that uses various art materials and the creative process to explore emotions, reduce anxiety, increase self-esteem and resolve emotional conflicts.
I support children to find their own voice through a respected and effective approach that employs a wide range of processes to resolve the challenges that may otherwise hold them back from achieving their full potential. By empowering children as sovereign beings my work enables them to develop an expanded sense of confidence, resilience and understanding so that they are better able to manage any emotional and behavioural challenges.
I found it tough working online during the lockdowns and wanted to find a way to reach more individuals that perhaps didn't have access to 1:1 support. I was eager to share the many tools that I had developed over the years in bringing balance, resilience and joy to the family and the home. I was missing working with groups and wanted to reach more families so in 2020 I began my search for a collaborator, a person that was as passionate about safety, wellbeing, creativity and joy in childhood as I was. Helen and I were introduced and immediately got to work on our Pathways to Resilience programme! Helen has an exceptional connection and understanding of children and continues to teach myself, and all whom work with her, the healing benefits of breathwork.
Our combined passion for supporting well-being quickly expanded to workshops for both Parents & Careers and school staff, creating the opportunity to gently introduce some of my Conscious Parenting skills to the community alongside Helen’s wisdom around the mind body connection and breathwork practices. Through these workshop we are creating yet another space for Parents, Carers and Staff members to expand their own knowledge around positive psychology and simple yet powerful ways to make a deeper connection with the children in their care.
Credentials: Parent Coaching, Conscious Parenting, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Mentalization-Focused Multi Family Groups, Advanced Diploma Therapeutic Arts + Diploma in Child Counselling, BA English, BFA Fine Arts (1992), Enhanced DBS, Safeguarding Certificate, Fully Insured.
Helen Spencer
Director & Funding Lead
Primary Teacher and Breathwork Practitioner
I discovered my passion and flare for working with children as a Teaching Assistant in Shropshire and, later, whilst volunteering with the NGO, Samvedana, a school for underprivileged children in India. These experiences inspired and motivated me to pursue a career in Primary teaching where I had a specialist interest in children with Emotional, Behavioural and Social difficulties.
My life love of learning and thirst for knowledge led me to do a Master in Education where I carried out a final research project which was inspired from the breathwork and yoga practices I saw the children in India doing before school. I wondered whether these practices could be utilised within schools in the U.K. to help children regulate their emotions and, in turn, their behaviour. For the project I created a four week programme which incorporated fun and engaging breathwork and mindfulness activities. The participants were a group of 9-year-old boys, all of whom regularly displayed extremely challenging behaviour and were often sent out of the classroom.
After the programme I did follow up interviews with the boys and their responses were staggering! These are just some of their thoughts about breathwork: ‘it was calming and relaxing’, ‘it helped me concentrate’, ‘I think the whole class should do it because it would make everyone calmer’ and ‘if they are angry they could just inhale and exhale and it would make them calmer’.
I was encouraged to publish my findings by the University. However, not long after finishing my Masters I was diagnosed with secondary cancer. After 12 months of surgery and treatment I went back to teaching but found I was struggling with my cognitive function and energy levels, meaning coping with the demands of the job became extremely difficult. After a period of turmoil, I reluctantly resigned.
To try and find a sense of balance and renewed energy I went to Trewfields Holistic Health Festival, where, not only did I meet Helen Bradley, but, I also discovered Nicola Price of Inspirational Breathing and my life changed exponentially. Nicola introduced me to a whole new realm of breathwork which led me to some incredible shifts emotionally and physically. I was so blown away by the profound changes I experienced that in 2020 I become a breathwork practitioner. Since then I have taken a deep dive into the science behind the mind-body connection, the nervous system, trauma and all things breath.
When Helen and Samantha founded Pathways to Resilience I followed them with a keen interest and found that it reignited a spark that I had long gone out having left teaching. When there were mummers about growing the CIC, I knew that I wanted to be part of it. Thankfully they welcomed me on board to this incredible project, allowing me to combine my passion, skills and knowledge in working with children as well as a Breathwork Practitioner. Now based in Cornwall, I am excited to bring this work to my community as we expand across the U.K. reaching as many children, parents/carers, staff and communities with this empowering and life changing work.
Credentials: Masters in Education, Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), Sports and Exercise Science BSc (hons), Certified Inspirational Breathing Practitioner, Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certificate , First Aid, Enhanced DBS, Safeguarding Certificate, Fully Insured.