BOTE Model

Over the years we have developed a model of the self based on the compass. At the South is the Body – the first and last of us. This body is connected on Others at the North. Perhaps the clearest illustration of this vertical principle is the fundamental link between the Mother and Child with the former being the first Other and the child’s Body dependent on her for nurture and nourishment. A warm and trusting relationship at this stage will produce a sense of ease in the child. Disruption and dispute will make then anxious and uncertain.

This fundamental axis shapes the Childs relationship to Others and recurs throughout life. On the horizontal axis is the link between Thoughts and Emotions. Which of these takes precedence has a great deal to do with the environment in which the child is raised.

Are Emotions easily and comfortably expressed or are they swept away and ignored as mere feelings? Does a rational approach indicated by prioritising thinking become the model response or is there a comfortable balance? At the centre of the model is the CC – the coordinating consciousness whose function it is to connect the growing child to the tribe while also trying to develop a sense of autonomy in the individual. At the basis of the constantly moving interacting compass is Grounding. It is this settled easeful state that our therapeutic model is promoting through the cards and via the equation – Home is Now and Now is Home.

To be grounded is to be mindful. When we are grounded we take up a mindful position on how the compass of the self is operating through Body, Others, Thoughts and Emotions (BOTE). We settle into the moment and take a learning from the cards in an open and creative manner.