Concept of “holding”——An important element of feeling safe

The core skill in all relationships supporting development, is holding: the capacity to enable people to feel safe enough to learn(Thornton, 2010).

Holding is establishing a sense of safety in the relationship, which enables the individual’s encounter with something new.

The term ‘holding’ derives from Donald Winnicott’s work on the mother–baby relationship, the first learning relationship. Holding means ‘not only the actual physical holding of the infant, but also the total environmental provision’. ‘Holding’ allows the baby to develop as a true self, ‘alone . . . in the presence of mother’. If the holding is good enough, knowledge exchange can happen.

As young children, if things go right for us, we explore the world from the secure base of someone who cares for us. We feel secure enough to encounter new things and new experiences.

Closely allied to holding is the concept ‘containing’. The difference between the two is largely a matter of focus. Both are theories about development in the very early stages of life: holding focus more on the total experience, whereas containing focuses more on the parts – the metabolizing of frustration or discomforting experiences, to produce thought.

Reference:

Bateson, G., 2000, Steps to an ecology of mind, Chicago, Chicago University Press. d

Bion, W.R., 1967, Second thoughts, London, Karnac. m

Thornton,C(2010)Essential Coaching Skills and Knowledge- Group and Team Coaching_ The Essential Guide, Routledge