Holding Space

Annie Isaacson's (Pen name) is a victim or survivor of repeated childhood sexual abuse. After years of working as a teacher and headteacher, her past childhood sexual traumas finally took their toll. During her adult life she sought therapy to try to come to terms with her past. It is through her experiences with counsellors, , therapists, holistic therapists, listeners, medics and friends and family that she has come to write this book.

This book is candid, raw and reflective, but it also references key authors and practitioners in the field of trauma, therapy and healing. It demonstrates the strength and resilience needed in what is a complex, healing journey.
book is a 'must read' for anyone supporting people on their own journey to healing and wholeness.

This book will benefit and is written for counsellors, student counsellors, therapists, student therapists, holistic therapists, listeners, medics and friends and family of surviviors as well as survivors themselves. The journey to wholeness can be a long and difficult one and the people who walk the journey with a survivor of abuse can make such a difference.

This book will give readers, counsellors, therapists, trainee student therapists, family and friends of victims as well as medics, employers and listeners, an insight into the sensitivity required to support a survivor's journey. It details heart-wrenching encounters with those 'holding space' - as well as some heart warming ones. There are moments of distress as well as moments or warmth and care, although the intentions of all listeners may have been from a place of compassion and care.

It takes a great deal of courage, as a survivor, to reach out and talk about sexual trauma. or indeed to ask for help. It is also difficult for those supporting them to engage with such sensitive material. The journey through trauma and recovery is never linear, and too often, the voices of survivors are overlooked or misunderstood. This book should serve as a companion and a resource, offering validation, practical insight, and compassion to anyone who finds themselves holding space for others or navigating their own path to healing.

Holding space is a unique publication, it has autobiographical elements, real-life reflections of difficult discussions and actions taken by listeners as well as personal responses to those encounters. It also demonstrates some of the symptoms, thought processes of a survivor with complex trauma reactions. Finally each section is supported by key research and experts in the field of sexual trauma and abuse.

The chapters in this book are organised in a way to demonstrate the challenges of the healing journey, how the beginnings of therapy and the endings can be extremely difficult. It details some of the strategies used and recommended in therapy and in listening situations as well as when the survivor is struggling in moments of crisis. In addition to these strategies it describes how victims or survivors can be discriminated against, especially when they struggle to function day to day, but also some of the distressing things that can be said with the best intentions, but causing further trauma or triggering.

Annie recognises that her abuse has contributed to making her the person she is today. She has had a successful career as a teacher and headteacher. She now focuses her time on her own and others' healing journeys.