Alison Evans and Debbie Hu recently presented at the International Conference on Mindfulness- Asia Pacific (ICM-AP) 2025, held in Hong Kong. They participated in the Education and Development Symposium, where they discussed the issues faced by training organisations. They also hosted a workshop on Mindfulness-Based Supervision (MBS). Alison shares her experience in this blog…
At the symposium, I chose to speak about the issue of MBS, tracing its origins back to 2008, when I set up a master’s course in MBCT at the University of Exeter. I introduced three different aspects to this question about MBS for mindfulness-based teachers.
Question 1: How can we support trainees in putting their mindfulness training into practice and applying it in real-life settings? We saw the importance of supervision in this process in aiding the learning process, including the following areas:
- Having bespoke support
- Assisting with specific skills building, including receiving feedback
- Exploring the nuances of working with individuals and groups
- A place to take ongoing questions
- Building confidence
- A space to take ‘wobbles’
- Explorations about how to be an embodied teacher
- Discovering the links between personal practice and teaching
This led to the next question.
Question 2: Who can supervise? What constitutes a ‘good’ supervisor? This began work, which has been ongoing since that time, and includes:
- Exploring and articulating what MBS is.
- Developing MBS training and ongoing development, which has led to the creation of the supervision pathway held with the Mindfulness Network.
- Having a well-trained bank of supervisors and keeping them up to date with their continuing professional development ensures that it is easy for people to find them. Current issues – pool of supervisors for different populations, different approaches to mindfulness, culturally relevant, language
- Culminated in the publication of a new book, drawing on this body of work over the past 12 years.
Question 3: How to keep supervision embedded in ongoing good practice and ensure that it stays ‘relevant’? There are many ongoing questions and conversations to have around this area, and some of the ones my colleagues and I are engaged in include:
- Our organisation is part of BAMBA, and we engage in dialogue with them regarding guidance and setting standards related to supervision.
- Exploring ongoing supervision – supporting developmental growth and adapting to supervisees’ needs as they shift and change. Might begin to include different forms of supervision, such as group supervision.
- What the supervisor’s role is in supporting adherence to guidelines – decisions about their supervisory needs, ongoing mindfulness practice, retreat attendance, further training and reading
- How to increase accessibility whilst maintaining integrity. Exploring different approaches – rethinking where needed and working together.
Debbie spoke about supporting new mindfulness-based program (MBP) teachers post-training. Debbie outlined effective strategies tailored to the Chinese-speaking region. Key approaches include the Participant Observer System, where novices join senior-led courses for observation and post-session discussions on teaching skills and group dynamics, offering direct learning but limited depth of understanding. Individual supervision provides intensive, detailed guidance for new teachers, though it’s costly and time-intensive. Group supervision can be beneficial for experienced teachers. Additionally, the free Mandarin SITT Peer Support Group, chaired by senior mindfulness teachers, has run for four consecutive years, promoting continuous education and community building. These supports emphasise growth, integrity, and collaboration.
On the afternoon of June 29, Alison and Debbie hosted a Mindfulness-Based Supervision Workshop at ICM-PA Hong Kong. The aim was to explore the concept of Mindfulness-Based Supervision (MBS) and its value in mindfulness-based work, based on Alison and Pamela’s new book on Mindfulness-Based Supervision and Mentoring, enabling participants to understand how supervision enhances teaching effectiveness, personal growth, and ethical safety.
In the workshop, we revisited the uniqueness of MBS. Using the structure of the MBS framework developed by Alison Evans and Pamela Duckerin, we explored the nature of MBS, encompassing the container (safe space), embodied presence, reflective inquiry, and developmental focus. We distributed framework handouts and offered a live role-play for participants to observe and discuss the mindfulness-based aspects of the interaction between supervisor and supervisee. Debbie portrayed the supervisee, with Alison as the supervisor, simulating an MBCT teacher’s unease with participant silence, weaving in cultural interpretations and group boundaries. This picked up on what Alison and Pamela describe as the warp threads of MBS in their book, namely, a mindful container, mutual inquiry, and space. After a brief pause, we brainstormed via popcorn on the importance of supervision, including ongoing learning and support.
This workshop yielded rich insights: supervision transcends mere reflection, becoming a collaborative journey that emphasises embodied steadiness and cultural sensitivity. Participants realised how to transform self-doubt into developmental edges and fortify their teaching boundaries.
Learn more about supervision at the Mindfulness Network by exploring the Supervision Pathway and selecting a supervisor on our website’s Supervision pages. Alison and Pamela’s book, Mindfulness-Based Supervision and Mentoring: Using an Embodied Dialogue to Support Learning and Reflection, is available in hard copy, e-book, and Kindle formats, and can be purchased directly from the publishers. Please note that prices may vary with other sellers, who may occasionally offer a lower price.
