The Seven-Eyed Model of Supervision

What is the Seven-Eyed Model?

The Seven-Eyed Model for Supervision, developed by Peter Hawkins and Robin Shohet, is widely used in counselling, coaching, and mediation supervision. It provides seven distinct lenses ("eyes") through which to reflect on professional practice. These lenses help supervisors and supervisees explore the work at multiple levels—not only what happened in the session, but also the wider relational, systemic, and personal dynamics at play.

Why Use the Model?

Overview of the Seven Eyes

Using the Model as a Supervisor

Supervision as a Practice Relationship

Supervision is not simply an evaluation of casework—it is a practice relationship in its own right. In this relationship, the supervisee becomes the supervisor's client, and the quality of the supervision alliance directly shapes confidence, learning, and professional growth. Just as mediators create safe processes for their clients, supervisors are called to build a reflective environment where supervisees can bring their work, vulnerabilities, and uncertainties without fear of judgment.

The Model in Context

Originally developed for counselling and psychotherapy, the Seven-Eyed Model is now widely applied across mediation, coaching, and other helping professions. While often used to examine the mediator–client dynamic, it can also be applied reflexively by supervisors to better understand their relationship with supervisees. Supervisors are not only supporting supervisees to reflect on their client work; they are also engaged in a relational process of their own.

By using the Seven-Eyed Model reflexively, supervisors can:

• Explore the dynamics that arise directly between themselves and the supervisee
• Notice how their interventions and relational style shape the supervision process
• Track emotional and embodied responses as sources of insight
• Attend to the wider professional, cultural, and ethical context of supervision

Through this lens, supervision extends beyond case discussion into modelling reflective awareness and professional integrity.

Seven Windows into the Supervision Relationship

When applied reflexively, the seven "eyes" can be imagined as windows into the supervision room, each framing the supervisor–supervisee relationship from a different angle. These perspectives may include:

• The supervisee's learning focus
• The supervisor's interventions
• The quality of the relationship between supervisor and supervisee
• The internal processes of each person
• The broader systemic and ethical context

Looking through multiple windows prevents a one-dimensional view and supports a richer, layered understanding of supervision as a dynamic relationship.

Parallel Process: Echoes in the Room

A key contribution of the model is its attention to parallel process: the dynamics between supervisee and supervisor often mirror those present between supervisee and client. By noticing these echoes, supervisors can turn supervision into a powerful learning tool, using the here-and-now relationship to cultivate reflective practice and relational awareness.

Reflective Questions for Supervisors

Each "eye" in the model can be explored through self-reflection:

• What am I noticing right now?
• How am I reacting, emotionally or physically?
• What does this tell me about the supervisee, the case, or myself?
• What broader cultural, professional, or systemic influences are present here?

These questions help supervisors move from reactive responses to purposeful reflection, supporting growth for both supervisee and supervisor.

A Living Practice

Using the Seven-Eyed Model reflexively encourages supervisors to see supervision as a living practice relationship, not just a technical exercise. By cultivating awareness of their own processes, responses, and interventions, supervisors provide a model of reflective, ethical, and relational practice that supervisees can carry into their own mediation work.