The Octopus Setup Spot™A Trauma-Informed Brainspotting Protocol for Holding What Feels Too Much
Born from grief. Powered by symbolism. Designed to help clients feel held when life breaks them open.
What Is the Octopus Setup Spot™?
The Octopus Setup Spot™ is a somatic and symbolic Brainspotting protocol that supports clients experiencing emotional overload, diffuse trauma, and complex grief. Inspired by a moment of personal healing, it uses the image and sometimes the physical sensation of an octopus to bring soothing, adaptable, multi-pointed relief to the body and mind.
Created by Michelle Dyett-Welcome, this method invites clients to process pain while feeling held in multiple places.
Whether used with a gaze spot, puppet, or energetic visualization, this technique is now being shared with coaches, therapists, and facilitators to bring multidimensional support into session work.
The Framework That Holds What Feels Like Too Much
Rooted in Brainspotting. Guided by symbolism. Created to cradle the unholdable with care.
Who It’s For
- Clients carrying grief, complex trauma, or caregiver fatigue
- Those with multiple areas of physical/emotional pain
- Clients overwhelmed by “having to hold it all”
- Practitioners who want to bring symbolic, sensory tools into healing work
- IFS & Brainspotting facilitators exploring somatic resourcing
Why an Octopus?
The octopus is a symbol of deep intelligence, regeneration, and adaptability. With eight arms that can comfort, retrieve, release, and anchor this creature becomes a portal for resourcing parts of the body and psyche that feel burdened, scattered, or unsupported.
When used with Brainspotting, the Octopus Setup Spot™ becomes a point of access for deep, layered integration.
How It Works
- Identify the emotional or physical burden
- Invite the octopus (symbol, puppet, or image) into the space
- Map up to 8 body/energy points needing support
- Find the brainspot where support is most needed
- Let the brain process while the client is “held” in multidimensional care
Creator Note from Michelle
This setup came to life in a moment of emotional collapse, when I wished I had more arms to hold all that was hurting. The octopus came in not just as a symbol… but as a presence. It helped me, and now it’s helping others. This is what healing gets to look like when we let ourselves be held.
Trademark Notice
Octopus Setup Spot™ is a pending trademark of Michelle Dyett-Welcome. Use in sessions is welcome with attribution. Please do not reproduce, teach, or modify the method for distribution without written permission.
The Octopus Setup Spot™
A Therapeutic-Inspired Consulting & Training Experience
The Octopus Setup Spot™ is a signature resourcing and integration tool rooted in somatic healing, symbolism, and gaze-based processing.
It offers a unique method for emotional regulation, grief navigation, and transformational coaching.
Through this method, we offer:
- 1:1 Consulting Sessions — Explore stuck emotional patterns, internal parts, and nervous system responses using the Octopus Setup Spot™
- Trainings & Workshops — Learn how to apply the Octopus Setup Spot™ as a somatic resourcing technique in coaching, education, or integrative care settings
This approach draws on Internal Family Systems (IFS), Brainspotting principles, and the regenerative symbolism of the octopus to support whole-person healing.
Tap the “Join the Waitlist” button above to receive early access to consulting sessions and upcoming trainings.