Bay De Veen

 The Octopus Approach:
 
My approach to supervision has the benefits of both fluidity and structure. More of one and less of another, or both parts in equal measure. It depends on your needs and our collaboration. The Octopus is a shapeshifter, adapting to the ever-changing environment, ever curious, exploring the known and unknown. The Octopus Approach emphasises constant learning through deepening self-awareness. In this way it is supervisee centred.
 
Structure:
 
The Seven Eyed Model is a well-established supervision method that provides a frame for organising the work. The model is adaptable enough to be used in any way that feels appropriate, but it can also be used in more systematic ways. It is implicitly creative, whilst also offering prompts to understand what is going on in our work with clients. There are seven Modes:
 
1.     Focusing on the clients and what and how they present.
2.     Exploring the strategies and interventions used by the supervisee.
3.     Looking at the relationship between client and supervisee. Thinking about unconscious processes could be in here.
4.     Attending to the supervisee.
5.     Looking at the relationship between supervisor and supervisee.
6.     The supervisor’s experience.
7.     How the wider context of the work impacts everyone.
 
 
The Eighth Tentacle.
 
The seven modes above correspond to seven of the octopus tentacles. The eighth is an additional element of the work that considers the existential, spiritual, metaphysical, diffractive, quantum and esoteric. It could also be about science, humanism, political activism, nature and eco-systems or any beliefs that might be significant for you. The possibilities are endless and so you can also opt out of the whole thing. However, it is my style to check in on your self-resourcing.
 
 
Diverging/Thinking Differently:
 
My approach to supervision may not be for you. Thinking differently has both its benefits, some would call it a superpower, but also its challenges. As someone with dyslexia, the octopus represents the pattern of my way of thinking; at the centre is who or what I am paying attention to at any given moment, in this case the supervisee and supervision process. Call this the head of the octopus. All the floating tentacles represent the many different flows of thought going on all at once. Questions about why and how things work, or not, are being considered. Also, what are we missing/ have we not thought about?

Adapting to the changing flow of what comes up is a thing of beauty and not at all an obstacle. These are useful skills in supervising because we can collaborate as equals with professional experience. We can learn from each other, collapsing many of the hierarchies present in what I call ‘traditional supervision’. That style of going through a list of clients and waiting for expertise to be imparted has never worked well for me and so I can only offer my way of doing supervision. I hope it will help us both grow into the best practitioners we can possibly be. However, if you benefit more from a classical approach, I’m probably not the supervisor for you.
 
 
The Fluidity of The Core Conditions. 
 
The person-centred approach to therapy (PCA) formed the core of my training as a therapist. I see it as an open, very fluid theoretical base that converges with many other modalities as a way of being present in the moment. The PCA interspersed with other concepts that complement and sometimes diverge from the basic tenets of the theory sit comfortably within the process of supervision. What has remained constant and evolving for me, and what I see as the cornerstone of therapy and supervision is the primacy of the core conditions:
·      Empathy
·      Congruence
·      Unconditional Positive Regard/Phenomenological acceptance.
 
These ways of being challenge us to always be aware of our impact on others and in doing so notice how the contextual, ever shifting nature of both our privilege and otherness is being played out. So, these concepts will always be around in our work together in some way because power dynamics, endemic in our profession and in the systems we find ourselves in, need to be attended to throughout the work. I think many of us carry the negative impact of not being seen. My way of attending and being present with you is a skill I can offer through complex times. I hope our paths will cross.
 
Qualifications
 
I obtained a diploma in clinical supervision from The Awareness Centre in 2022-3, a year long course, during which I also practised as a supervisor for a total of 150 hours.
 
Fees and contact.
 
My fee is £80 an hour or for longer sessions the cost is pro rata.
 
To contact me use: Bay-De-Veen@protonmail.com
 
For now, I only work online using zoom.