Holding the Holder
A six-week online series for practitioners who hold others and need to be held.
A note from Lili and Jolene
Those of us who work in restorative justice, conflict transformation, education, research or care-based fields spend a great deal of our professional lives holding space for others.We hold difficult emotions, complex dynamics, stories of grief, harm, courage and hope.Over time, that weight accumulates in ways we don't always notice — especially when personal struggles, pressure, or difficult dynamics at work make everything harder to carry.Holding the Holder was born from a simple question: who is holding you?
How can we hold each other?This series is our offering.A space to pause, together, and to remember what sustains us.
Who is this for?
This series is for you if you work in restorative justice, conflict transformation, mediation, probation, research, social care, education, or any field that asks you to show up fully for others — day after day.It is for you if something feels off right now — or if you have been through a difficult period recently and are still finding your way back.
If you have noticed the signs of exhaustion but kept going anyway. If some part of you is quietly asking for a pause.It is for you if you are curious about what it might feel like to be witnessed, rather than being the one who witnesses.There will be gentleness, circles of togetherness, silences, creative moments where we can rest, a journal that is yours, and inspiration.You do not need any experience of art, creativity or embodiment practices. You just need to be willing to be carried away by the sound of a gentle stream in the summer.
How does it work? The six weeks online structure
Six consecutive weeks. One 90-minute session per week. Online, in a small group of no more than eight people, same people throughout.Each session moves through arrival and grounding, a circle of togetherness, an embodied, creative practice, and a brief closing reflection. Between sessions, a light personal practice and a buddy hold the thread. You will be invited to keep a journal — your personal creative thread across the six weeks.
The six themes we propose to move through this journey together:
Week One — Values and Challenges
Week Two — The Relationship between Holding Space and Art
Week Three — Grief
Week Four — Nature, Ancestors and Culture
Week Five — The Creative Self
Week Six — Boundaries, Rituals and Continuity
Investment
We have set this price because we believe this work matters — and we want it to be accessible to practitioners.
In many countries, a single therapy, massage or wellness session typically costs a minimum of €60–80 per hour.
This series offers six sessions of deep relational work, creative practice and community — for less than the cost of three one-hour self-care appointments.Early bird: €165 — available until [date], meaning €27.50 per week.
Standard: €190 — from [date] onwards, meaning €31.66 per week.
What your investment includes:
• Six 90-minute live sessions on Zoom
• Curated programme — restorative circle, embodiment and creativity
• Session preparation and debrief between facilitators
• Facilitation by two experienced circle-keepers and restorative justice practitioners
• A personal creative journal process building across all six weeks
• Weekly light-touch personal practices
• Personal buddy pair for connection
Estimated total value: €610
Payment plans available — contact us at [email protected]
A small number of bursary places are available for those for whom this investment would be a genuine barrier. Please reach out directly and we will find a way.
About Lili and Jolene
Lili Lapouge
Restorative Practitioner, Circle Keeper, Project Manager, Researcher, Art Enthusiast
For a long time, I thought resilience meant continuing. Keeping going. Holding space. Carrying complexity well.But over the years — through restorative work, research, circles, institutional abuse cases, burnout, motherhood, grief, and healing — I began to realise that sometimes the most restorative thing we can do is pause long enough to hear ourselves again.Over the years, I have been brought into spaces of deep human pain and courage: restorative processes with survivors of abuse, healing circles, workshops in prison, research on violent crime, gender-based violence, policing and ethics — across many parts of the world.I've lived in seven countries, interviewed people in twice as many. In Thailand, I have facilitated sound journeys in wellness spaces and practised meditation and Qi Gong. It has been such a beautiful journey. I am grateful for this. And I am now feeling the call to slow down. For this reason, I have recently settled in Portugal, in a very green, calm place by the ocean.I have spent years listening to stories that changed me — and slowly I began to understand that practitioners, too, need spaces where we are witnessed.I believe that caring for others is sustained only if we are also in relationship with ourselves — especially in the moments when we feel disconnected, exhausted, or no longer fully alive to our own values. A beautiful art challenge helped me to find my way back to myself, as you will see further down.Holding the Holder grew from that place. From conversations between practitioners quietly carrying too much. From noticing how many of us know how to hold others, but struggle to let ourselves be held.This series is my invitation to slow down together. To be honest. To reconnect with what sustains us. And to remember that resilience is not something we build alone.
Jolene Scullion
Circle Keeper, Researcher and Restorative Justice Practitioner
I know what it feels like to care deeply for others while quietly losing connection with yourself.
So much of the work we do in restorative and care-based spaces asks us to stay open — to emotion, conflict, grief, complexity, and human vulnerability.Over time, I began to notice how easy it was to stay focused on supporting everyone else while ignoring the quieter voices within myself asking for rest, softness, creativity, or care.What I have learned is that wellbeing is not something we achieve once and for all. It is something we return to, again and again, often in small and ordinary ways.I am drawn to spaces where people can arrive without pressure — where there is no need to perform expertise, strength, or certainty. My approach to facilitation is gentle, relational, and grounded in deep listening. I believe healing often begins in the moment someone realises they do not have to carry everything alone.Creativity, embodiment, nature, community, and restorative dialogue have all become part of my own way back to myself. Not as perfect practices, but as companions. Things that help me remember who I am underneath the roles and responsibilities.Holding the Holder was created from a shared recognition: that practitioners also need spaces where they can exhale. Spaces where we can speak honestly about exhaustion, grief, boundaries, hope, and the complexity of caring work — without needing to fix or resolve it immediately.This series is an offering from that place. A place to slow down together, to be witnessed, and to gently reconnect with what keeps us human in this work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need any artistic or creative experience?
Not at all. This is not about making good art. It is about using creativity as a way back to yourself — in whatever form calls to you. Drawing, writing, photography, cooking, dancing — all of it counts. No skill required.What does the homework involve?
It is light and entirely optional. Each week a small personal invitation — something that takes ten to thirty minutes and belongs entirely to you. Nothing to complete, nothing to hand in.When does it run?
Six consecutive weeks from September 2026, one 90-minute session per week, online, on [day] at [time] CET.What do I need?
A device with camera and microphone, a quiet space, and ideally an unlined A5 journal and a few simple art materials — coloured pencils, pastels, whatever calls to you. We suggest visiting an art shop before the series begins with a budget of around €30. Think of it as your first act of self-care.Are sessions recorded?
No. What is shared in the circle stays in the circle.Is the series in English?
Yes.What is your refund policy?
Full refund if you withdraw before the series begins. Once started, we are unable to offer refunds but will always try to find a solution.Not sure yet if this is for you? Please reach out — we'd love to talk.Any other questions?
Write to us at [email protected] — we would love to hear from you.
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A story that changed everything
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