Mindful Paws
Specialist Alternative Provision Using Nature-Based Practice, Therapeutic Mentoring & Canine-Assisted Interventions for Young People and Adults Aged 8–25 Across Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire
In a world that moves too fast, Mindful Paws offers a space to slow down, reconnect, and find hope.
A Small Alternative Provision & Therapeutic Service in Hertfordshire
Supporting young people, families and adults through deeply connected, canine-assisted and nature-based approaches, in a space built on connection, emotional safety and hope.
We provide a calm, relational space where individuals can slow down, feel safe, and begin to reconnect — with themselves, with others, and with the world around them.
At the heart of our work is the restoration of hope.
Hope that things can feel different.
Hope that connection is possible.
Hope that small steps can lead to meaningful change.
Our approach is gentle, pressure-free and responsive, supporting emotional regulation, confidence and re-engagement at a pace that feels safe and sustainable.
Who We Work With
We work with children, young people and adults aged 8–25, including:
Young people with SEND, SEMH, autism, ADHD, PDA, trauma or attachment differences
Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
Young people disengaged or excluded from mainstream education
Adults experiencing anxiety, burnout or life transitions
Parents of young people with complex SEMH needs
We work alongside Local Authorities, SEND teams, schools, alternative provisions, social workers and families, offering flexible, bespoke support that meets individuals where they truly are.
Walking Beside You on the Path to Change
About Mindful Paws
Mindful Paws is a small, specialist alternative provision and therapeutic service based in Hertfordshire. We support children, young people and adults through deeply relational, canine-assisted and nature-based approaches — creating a genuinely different kind of space, where emotional safety and human connection come before everything else.
Founded by Samantha Tompkins, a Certified Coach and Animal Assisted Therapist with over 14 years of experience supporting young people in alternative and outdoor education settings, Mindful Paws has grown into a small but deeply committed team. We bring together qualified counsellors, teachers, coaches and mentors — each one chosen not only for their qualifications, but for their passion, their authenticity and their unwavering belief in the people they work with.
We do not ask individuals to fit into a set model. We shape our approach around them: their pace, their interests, their needs and their story. From this foundation of trust and safety, we witness the most extraordinary things: a young person leaving the house for the first time in months, a parent finally feeling heard, an adult reconnecting with who they truly are.
Small steps. Meaningful change. Restored hope.
Our Approach
Our approach is experiential, individualised and built on genuine human connection. We know from decades of research that one consistent, emotionally available adult can change the course of a young person’s life. At Mindful Paws, that belief is woven into everything we do — not as a backdrop to our work, but as the very foundation of it.
We combine canine-assisted support, nature-based experiences, creative activities, baking, music, arts, games and relational mentorship. Through practical, side-by-side experiences, unfolding organically and held without pressure or expectation, trust, regulation and genuine connection develop naturally.
We believe that when a person feels truly safe, not just told they are safe but genuinely experiencing safety in their body and their relationships, transformation becomes possible. That belief is at the heart of everything we do.
Outcomes & Impact
Progress looks different for every individual we work with. It might include:
- Leaving the house after a prolonged period of absence
- Improved emotional regulation and reduced anxiety
- Increased confidence and a stronger sense of self
- A sense of belonging, connection and being truly known
- Consistent engagement and a growing sense of autonomy
- Reconnection with possibility and future pathways
These outcomes ripple outward, into families, into relationships, into the wider world. That is the transformation we are here to support.
Our Team
Mindful Paws brings together a skilled and compassionate team dedicated to restoring hope and emotional safety for young people.
Our team is made up of qualified counsellors, teachers, accredited coaches, mentors, Outdoor Learning Specialists and Nature-Based Practitioners with extensive experience supporting young people. This diversity is what makes our work so powerful. By drawing on different skills, backgrounds, and passions, we are able to support young people in ways that are gentle, relational, and truly individual.
We believe that passion informs practice. When building our team, we look for people who are deeply committed to supporting young people and able to embed their own passions and strengths into their work with absolute authenticity. This allows our facilitation to feel human, responsive, and transformative.
Compassion underpins all that we do. We work alongside young people at their pace, creating calm, emotionally safe spaces where growth can happen naturally.
Safeguarding is fundamental to our work. We adhere to the highest standards of safer recruitment. All practitioners are fully qualified, fully insured, and rigorously vetted, and all animals we work with are certified therapy dogs, trained and insured to ensure safety, welfare, and trust at all times.
Our Affiliations
Our Offering
Mindful Paws offers flexible, integrative provision tailored to individual need. Whether you are a young person, a parent, a family or an adult, our approach is always the same: deeply connected, responsive and shaped entirely around the person in front of us.
We do not ask people to fit into a set model. We gently shape the environment around them, prioritising safety, relationship and trust above all else. From this foundation, we begin to see small but meaningful shifts: increased confidence, emerging self-belief, and a growing sense that things can feel different.
Everything we offer is a vehicle for connection. That is what makes it transformative.
Flexible, bespoke sessional placements for young people outside of mainstream education, or those who benefit from dedicated support alongside their school timetable. Our AP is rooted in relationship — weaving together canine-assisted support, nature-based experiences and side-by-side mentorship into every session.
Sessions are shaped entirely around the individual: unhurried, pressure-free and designed to build trust, regulation and genuine connection at their own pace. Provision is reviewed regularly to ensure it always reflects what the young person needs right now. See our Alternative Provision page for full details.
Carefully held small group sessions offering peer connection, shared experiences and therapeutic support in a safe, contained environment. Groups are small by design — every individual is seen, every voice matters.
Some things are easier to say when you’re moving. Our Walk & Talk sessions offer a gentle alternative to traditional face-to-face support, walking side by side, in nature, with space to think, feel and simply breathe.
Bespoke support for young people navigating significant change — leaving school, moving from care into independence, or stepping into a new phase of life. We walk alongside them, building confidence and creating a more empowered transition.
Individual coaching for adults navigating anxiety, life transitions, burnout or a sense of feeling lost. Sessions combine transformational coaching with the calming presence of nature and canine-assisted co-regulation. See our For Adults page for full details.
Specialist support for parents and carers of young people with complex SEMH needs. A space to feel heard, access practical guidance, and be supported in your own right. See our For Adults page for full details.
What Guides Us
Emotional safety always comes first
Progress happens at each individual’s own pace
We follow the young person’s lead, always
Participation is always invitation, never expectation
Progress is individual, incremental and genuinely celebrated
Every individual is met exactly as they are
Safe, trusted relationships create the foundations for change
At the heart of everything we do is the restoration of hope.
What to Expect from Sessions
Sessions at Mindful Paws are always led by the individual. There is no agenda, no pressure and no fixed model. Just a warm, consistent space in which trust can develop naturally at its own pace.
For young people, sessions are shaped entirely around the individual. They might include bushcraft, baking, art, photography, music, exploring our private meadow, walks through the countryside, or alongside our therapy dogs. Some sessions are active and filled with laughter; others are quieter and more reflective. What they all share is that they are genuinely chosen by the young person: unhurried, pressure-free and built on real trust.
For adults, we offer individual coaching combining transformational approaches with the calming presence of nature, supporting you to navigate anxiety, burnout, life transitions or a sense of feeling lost, at a pace that feels right for you.
Sessions take place at our hub in Old Welwyn, in our beautiful private meadow space, or within your own home or community, wherever feels most comfortable and most safe.
Testimonials
Safeguarding at Mindful Paws
At Mindful Paws, we are fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults who take part in our sessions. We take our responsibility to protect everyone in our care very seriously.
Samantha Tompkins, owner of Mindful Paws, is the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and has up-to-date safeguarding training. If you ever have any concerns about a child or vulnerable adult’s safety or well-being, please contact us immediately at info@mindful-paws.co.uk
Get in touch
Location – Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.
Certified Coach & Animal Assisted Therapist with over 14 years of experience.
A unique, pressure-free alternative to traditional therapeutic offerings.
The healing power of dogs, nature, and movement combined.
Tailored, client-led support—at a pace that works for you.
© Mindful Paws
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