Sonia
Sonia founded The Next Steps Forward as a way of combining both her passions - horses and supporting the emotional development of others.
Always working within the grey area between therapeutic support and education, Sonia spent 12 years as a Clinical Educational Assistant in a therapeutic residential children’s setting, supporting young people suffering from severe emotional and behavioural difficulties as a result of early trauma. She also managed and supported a team of staff, delivering training to new members of staff and ongoing workshops on attachment and EYFS framework. In her senior role, she attended meetings with the lead therapists/psychologists, LACs, and PEPs to provide a clear overview of the child and also act as an advocate for the child. She sourced and developed outside links and relationships with professionals offering educational services, and activities for enhancing learning outside of the classroom, for example, forest school, a West End and Broadway dance choreographer, music studio time, climbing and activity centres, as well as horse riding.
As she watched the magic connection happen between horse and human, both in her professional and personal life, Sonia started searching for more information about equine-facilitated activities and therapies, which led to learning more about the exquisite horse-human bond and equine-facilitated learning.
Sonia is now a trained practitioner of EFL, completing her training at LEAP EQUINE.
Other relative qualifications:
FHEQ Level 6 qualification in Child & Adolescent Psychotherapeutic Counselling
Level 3 diploma for the children and young people’s workforce
Level 3 in Hypnotherapy and Counselling Skills
CIBTAC qualification in holistic body and beauty treatments
Sonia continues to attend CPD courses and has regular supervision to keep up-to-date and professionally healthy. She also has a wide range of local links with other professional bodies to maintain a joined-up physical and mental approach to the client’s overall well-being should there be the need to refer to, or address any other of their concerns.