PATH: Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope
A Person-Centred Planning Process for Creating Meaningful Futures
PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope) is a powerful person-centred planning process that helps individuals, families, teams, and organisations create a compelling vision for the future and identify practical steps to achieve it.
Developed by Jack Pearpoint, Marsha Forest, and John O'Brien, PATH combines creative thinking, deep listening, and collaborative action planning to move people from where they are now towards the life they want.
Whether you are supporting a young person in transition, planning for a more inclusive future, developing a team, or pursuing a personal goal, PATH creates clarity, momentum, and hope.
Prefer to learn at your own pace? Our online PATH course is £659, or included in the all courses subscription at £25 a month including VAT. Start the online course.
What is PATH?
PATH is a facilitated graphic planning process that brings together the person at the centre, alongside people who know and care about them, to explore:
Dreams and aspirations
Strengths and gifts
Relationships and support networks
Challenges and obstacles
Practical actions and commitments
The result is a visual roadmap that inspires action and helps people move towards their desired future.
Questions about PATH
What is PATH?
PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope) is a person centred planning process. It helps individuals, families, teams and organisations build a shared vision for the future and work out practical steps towards it.
Who developed PATH?
Jack Pearpoint, Marsha Forest and John O’Brien. Colin Newton and Derek Wilson, the founders of Inclusive Solutions, were introduced to inclusion through Marsha Forest and Jack Pearpoint. For more than twenty years they have championed inclusion and person centred practice, training and inspiring educational psychologists, school staff, families and services across the UK and internationally, including the Czech Republic, Serbia, Bosnia, Georgia, Ukraine, Canada, Gibraltar and Malta. Their tireless work has helped build person centred thinking into educational planning, and one part of their legacy is that so many educational psychologists now see PATH and MAPS as a key part of their toolkit.
What happens in a PATH?
The person at the centre and the people who know and care about them explore dreams, strengths and gifts, relationships, challenges and practical actions. A process facilitator guides the stages and a graphic facilitator records the conversation. The result is a visual roadmap.
Who is PATH for?
Anyone planning for a better future: a young person in transition, a family, a team or a whole organisation.
Can you facilitate a PATH for us?
Yes. Our team can lead a live PATH session with graphic recording. Ask us to facilitate a PATH.
How can I learn to facilitate PATH?
Book in person training, or learn at your own pace with our online PATH course. It is £659, or included in the all courses subscription at £25 a month including VAT.
More about the PATH process
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PATH is a creative planning tool that utilises graphic facilitation to collect information and develop positive future plans.
PATH goes directly to the future and implements backwards planning to create a step by step path to a desirable future. (Inclusion Press, 2000). These tools were developed by Jack Pearpoint, Marsha Forest and John O’Brien to help marginalised people be included in society and to enable people to develop a shared vision for the future.
PATH can be used with individuals and their circle of support, families teams and organisations.
Both MAP and PATH are facilitated by two trained facilitators – one process facilitator who guides people through the stages and ensures that the person is at the centre and one graphic facilitator who develops a graphic record of the conversations taking place in the room.
Follow the link below to read a detailed thesis by Dr Margo Bristow on the use of PATH by educational Psychologists in the UK.The findings indicate that PATH impacted positively and pupils attributed increased confidence and motivation to achieve their goals to their PATH. Parents and young people felt they had contributed to the process as equal partners, feeling their voices were heard. Improved pupil- parent relationships and parent-school relationships were reported and the importance of having skilled facilitators was highlighted. Although participants were generally positive about the process, many felt daunted beforehand, possibly due to a lack of preparation. Pre-PATH planning and post-PATH review were highlighted as areas requiring further consideration by PATH organisers. Recommendations to shape and improve the delivery of PATH are outlined together with future research directions.
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To create a shared vision
To name shared goals
To enrol others
To strengthen the group
To explore connections and needs
To specify an Action Plan
To create a visual graphic record of the whole event
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Individuals and Families
Life transitions
Education planning
Employment goals
Independent living
Building community connections
Schools and Educational Settings
Transition planning
Student-centred learning
Inclusion planning
Strength-based support
Organisations and Teams
Strategic planning
Culture change
Vision development
Community engagement
Communities
Collective action
Inclusive community development
Partnership building
How to Get Started with PATH
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Person Centred Planning Together Book
This book explores Person Centred Planning, a transformative approach that empowers individuals to shape their own lives, rather than being directed by service systems. Focusing on tools like MAPS and PATH, it offers practical guidance for effective, inclusive planning with skilled facilitation and meaningful participation at its core.
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Self Paced Online Learning
Learn how to facilitate PATH, a powerful Person Centred Planning tool, through this practical online course. Designed for educators, support workers, and facilitators, the course covers each step of the PATH process, offering real examples, downloadable resources, and strategies to empower individuals to plan meaningful, self-directed futures.
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Facilitated Process
Our team will lead a live PATH session - a powerful visual planning process that supports individuals or groups to map out positive futures. With skilled facilitation and graphic recording, we guide participants through each step, turning dreams and goals into clear actions, shared understanding, and committed support.
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In Person Training
This in-depth, in-person training teaches participants how to confidently facilitate and graphically record PATH sessions. Our team will provide step-by-step instruction, modelling best practice and offering hands-on experience. Trainees leave equipped to lead inclusive, person-centred planning that inspires action and supports people to move towards meaningful life goals.
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Hear From Others
Hear from teams we have worked with on PATH, including Durham Educational Psychology Service, Nottingham Schools Together and Wiltshire Educational Psychology Service. Watch their feedback further down this page.
What West Sussex teams said about our PATH training
“I would do it again in a heartbeat. The people were amazing, the trainers were out of this world.”
“Skills within skills - all adaptable - the most helpful visual planning tool.”
“A fundamental set of skills for any role where people plan with individuals.”
“How beautiful it was to see a visual story come together. I will be working hard to put this into my work daily.”
“It is personally as well as professionally challenging and rewarding.”
“A brilliant tool to use with schools, and the more teams trained in it, the more it supports partnership working.”
Participants, PATH training for West Sussex County Council: Mental Health Support Team (Thought-Full), Virtual School, Voice and Participation Team and Educational Psychology Service, October 2026.
