What does holding space mean? You may have heard this phrase before but perhaps it sounds a bit vague, or something a therapist might say. In fact, we can all ‘hold space’ for someone and probably do so without realising. We do it for those we love – family or friends – when they’re going through a challenging time.
‘Holding Space’ for someone is a judgement-free zone
When we hold space for other people, we offer unconditional support, and let go of judgement and control.
If we want to truly support people in their own growth, transformation, grief, etc, we can’t fix their problems for them. We also need to avoid shaming them by implying that they should know more than they do. It’s also important to avoid overwhelming them with more information than they’re ready for. Instead we need to give them the space to make their own choices, while offering our unconditional support. Sometimes this can be challenging because of our human tendency to want to help fix people or offer an opinion.
How I ‘hold space’ for my clients
As a holistic grief coach and wellbeing coach, I hold space for my clients so that they can find a way to navigate through a difficult time. When I’m working as a nutritional therapist it’s appropriate – and indeed necessary – to give definitive advice. But in coaching, my role is more about simply supporting people to learn, grow or grieve. I aim to create a safe space so that my clients they feel properly heard and understood. I’m there to listen, walk beside them, and maybe offer some gentle guidance that can help them towards discovering what’s right for them. Part of my role is to encourage people to trust their own intuition and wisdom.
Encouraging you to find your own answers
If we hold space for someone, we can empower them to go within and find their own answers, to find their own way forward. When we’re going through grief or a period of change, it’s bound to be a challenging time. So it’s important to feel supported in a completely non-judgemental way. This may then allow for gently pushing out of your comfort zone or, if you’re grieving, give you the courage to simply keep going.
Holding space is not just for coaches and therapists. Everyone can do it for those in their lives who are going through a difficult time, such as a bereavement, a break up or an illness. It might not get labelled as ‘holding space’ but that’s what it is – it’s about being a compassionate, empathetic and supportive friend or family member who walks beside someone without judgement and who resists offering personal opinion on how to make things better. It’s really just showing unconditional love ❤
How I can help you
If you’d like support through a bereavement, or another type of life challenge, then please contact me: vanessa@wellbeingandnutrition.co.uk
For further details about how I work: see here
Vanessa May is a BANT registered Nutritional Therapist, ILM Accredited Wellbeing Coach and Certified Grief Educator and has helped hundreds of clients with her holistic approach to health and wellbeing. She specialises in stress, fatigue, low mood, anxiety and grief, giving women the confidence and tools to change their lives in the best way possible.