About Alex van Oostveen

Alex has been supervising me for quite a long time, during which he has become an integral and highly valued contributor to my continuous learning and development. Despite the considerable distance between South Africa and Switzerland, I chose Alex as my supervisor because of his remarkably solid academic foundation, strong coaching experience and his straight forward, friendly and results-oriented approach. Coaching supervision is so much more than a tick-box compliance exercise and I cherish my sessions with Alex as opportunities to reflect, challenge my assumptions and design actionable outcomes. I recommend Alex to any professional coach looking for a top-tier, committed and highly competent supervisor.

Alex is an insightful and supportive supervisor. I’ve very much enjoyed working with him as he gently asks thought provoking questions to help me reflect on my coaching practice. Alex adds value to enhance coaching mastery!

Alex is beyond amazing when it comes to really connecting to the core motivation and challenges I have experienced as a coach. I respect his professionalism and keeping me aligned with ICF core competencies. He goes deep, but carries the conversation with empathy and genuine motivation in helping me find my strengths and desire to continually grow and find what style and methods work for me. Alex has been one of the most significant influences in my coaching journey with SACAP and I appreciate the work he has done to help me maximize my abilities, and compassion to understand the human side of the trials and successes in personal and professional development.

I left each group supervision session with Alex being expanded by his role modelling coaching supervision. My horizons were broadened by the individual learning and edge work of participant coaches, by the collective group learning and the sense of community that developed. A warm smile crosses my face, as I recall the clarity of intention and skill with which Alex fostered the coaching supervision environment by using creative structure. He is skilled at applying both supervision and Transactional Analysis theory to help coaches grow in their practice, in themselves as well as areas of vulnerability. I experienced Alex as grounded in his coaching supervision approach and resourceful in sharing knowledge, tools, observations and reading material for growth.

I grew in a number of ways through working with Alex as my coaching supervisor. His gently challenging attention kept me focused when I digressed. He is a master of asking questions that nudge (and sometime necessarily push) one forward and I learned a lot from listening to him question fellow coaches in the supervision group as well as from the results I derived from his questioning me. His approach of supervising in groups increased the scope and depth of learning. His broad theoretical knowledge expanded my coaching repertoire and his careful attention to detail and the bigger picture contributed significantly to my unfolding professional development.

I found my supervision interaction with Alex very useful. Through incisive questions and focussed listening, he helped me gain valuable insights into myself as coach.

Thank you for the manner in which you have facilitated our sessions. It was both professional and productive. Although my initial expectations of the coaching were somewhat obscured you remained committed and respectful. I have learnt many lessons about myself and feel I have gained the ability to navigate my way through challenging situations or circumstances. The models you shared will be of great value to me for many years to come. I would highly recommend your coaching service to anyone willing to make positive and rewarding life changes.

Alex came highly recommended as an empathetic coach, which he was! I contracted a few sessions to sort through some growing concerns that needed to be addressed. His ability to actively listen, understand the underpinning issues of both my personal and professional life were exemplary. He heard what was unspoken and brought it to my awareness through powerful questions and direct communication. This opened up the space for me to explore options to resolve my concerns. I benefited from his gentle nudges that helped me commit to new approaches to overcome old and tried methods that were ineffective. He clearly demonstrated a professional code of ethics and conduct. I find him generous in sharing his knowledge to create a lasting change.

Alex has great skill in listening deeply and hearing underlying beliefs. His passion for the appreciative approach gently invites his clients to connect with their best selves. His insightful questions make him a powerful coach. He is deeply self-reflective which positively impacts all of his work.

Alex is a meticulous, insightful coach. He challenges thinking while being supportive and highly considerate of the process. He is trustworthy and provides a safe place in which one can explore one’s potential.

Alex has been a consummate professional in his Supervision of my Coach learning journey whilst completing my SACAP Post Grad Diploma in Coaching Internship. Alex provided me with relevant and informative reflection, and oversight of my coaching as practice. He attentively focused on: 1) my growth & development as a coach – enhancing my competence as a practitioner; 2) carefully supported and nurtured my role of coach as a person – deepening my confidence and self-belief of who I am as a coach; and 3) skilfully displayed what it means to be a professional coach – providing me a lived experience of integrity and collaboration in the way in which he supported our reflective dialogue. It has been an absolute privilege partnering and collaborating with Alex!

I place great value on the contribution that the supervision work I do with Alex has made (and continues to make) to my coaching practice. His gently rigorous way of being has helped me negotiate tricky coaching challenges, develop practices that take care of myself and supported me to clarify the sort of coach I wish to be. I cannot recommend him highly enough.

Alex has been my supervisor since my business coaching internship in 2018. I have taken many varied and different things into supervision with Alex, from referrals, to incorporating assessments into my coaching practice, to conflicts of interest, and even team coaching with a co-coach.

I find Alex to be extremely knowledgeable, especially when it comes to Transactional Analysis (TA), the “7-eyed model of supervision” and other theory he draws from in the moment. Everything I’ve brought into supervision, we have looked at through the lens of one of these frameworks, and every time I’ve come away with more insight and awareness of what I am responsible for in these coaching relationship systems.

A supervision session feels challenging, insightful and highly rewarding, as long as you work for it and are willing to be honest with yourself in terms of thoughts, feelings, judgments and decisions.

Gestalt 2-chair coaching. “I went into this completely unprepared for what was about to transpire. Alex explained the process very well and prodded me with subtle questions and gave me clear guidance. I broke down twice during the session, which is not a common thing for me, especially in company of another male, but he handled the situation beautifully. I had several epiphanies during the session and one big revelation. Over the following days I had further mind shifts and felt the release of years of built-up anger and resentment for someone else that was not even part of this conflict resolution. This was very powerful, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has any unresolved conflict with anyone.”