The Well-Held Space: Creative Facilitation Training

For 3 weekends, over 3 months, a small group of 12 people will come together to support each other's development as creative facilitators.

“A deep dive into what it means to hold space for yourself and others.” 

***NEW DATES JUST ADDED FOR AUTUMN 2026***

About the facilitator

Holly Stoppit is a facilitator, Dramatherapist (MA), educator, director of autobiographical devised theatre, clinical supervisor and creative consultant with further training in IFS (Levels 1+2) and Somatic IFS (Step 1+2).

Since 2007, Holly has been designing and delivering group workshops for adults (before this she was a performer, playworker and drama workshop leader for kids). Holly’s workshops combine body-based creative exploration (movement, embodiment, clowning, fooling and voice work) with meditation and self-inquiry to offer spaces for people to connect with themselves, other people and the world.

Holly sensitively holds robust and inclusive spaces where all kinds of people get to connect and feel welcome, seen and celebrated. Holly regularly holds space for neuro-divergent and LGBTQI+ folks and people with mental and physical health issues. She has also created projects for both adults and children with learning difficulties and elders with dementia.

Who Is This Course For?

The Well-Held Space is a valuable training ground for both established and emerging facilitators. It is open to facilitators, artists, creatives, therapists, teachers, managers, leaders and anyone who wants to develop the skills and awareness to hold inclusive and accessible spaces for people of all ages and abilities, across a range of disciplines, including visual art, drama, dance, circus, music, play, personal development, physical fitness and spirituality. 

• Perhaps you’ve already got an idea for a great group workshop, but are lacking the confidence and know-how to get it off the ground?

• Perhaps you’re already working with groups but are wanting to find a more empowering, choice-laden, person-centred, creative approach?

• Perhaps you are already working creatively one-to-one and interested in how to scale that up to working with groups?

The Programme

The course programme offers theory and practical exercises to enable your creative facilitation development. Throughout the training, we'll be exploring a range of creative modalities including play, movement, voice work, art work, visualisation and writing. There will be guided personal reflections, group discussions and peer feedback. 

As with all of Holly’s workshops, you can expect deep personal insights, shared laughter, spontaneous dancing and endless cups of tea.

This course has been developed as a considered three-month process with time for reflection in between the sessions (there’s optional reflective homework for anyone who would like that). 

Participants will be expected to attend all three weekends as it is a group journey and each weekend builds on the previous one.

The following programme structure is subject to change, as the course content may evolve in response to the needs of the group.

Weekend One – All About You

• Creating a group agreement

• Getting to know each other

• Exploring: What is facilitation? Who are you as a facilitator?

• Exploring: Polyvagal theory - noticing what your nervous system is doing + exploring ways to soothe and ground yourself

• Facilitation skills practice: active listening, asking open questions

Weekend Two – All About Them

• Compassionate leadership: using Nonviolent Communication to explore the feelings and needs that fuel behaviour in groups
• Considering the various stages of group process and what input your participants might need from you at each stage
• Exploring: trauma-informed practice

• Facilitation skills practice: making invitations as opposed to demands - exploring what happens when someone says “no” to an invitation.

Weekend Three – All About Us

• Exploring the inner parts that pop up when you're facilitating - using Internal Family Systems (IFS)

• Facilitation skills practice: A chance to facilitate a group activity and receive structured peer feedback

• Access and inclusion: Designing accessible and inclusive activities / sessions / programmes

• Next steps: What will you offer the world and what support do you need?

• Savouring, sowing seeds, closing

“So much inspiration, fun, learning, play, deep self inquiry.”

The Details  

Dates: 3 weekends:

October 10th and 11th 2026

November 14th and 15th 2026

December 12th and 13th 2026

Application deadline: 31st August 2026

We may award some places before the deadline, so get your application in ASAP.

This course is a carefully-crafted group journey. Attending the full course is essential, both for your own experience and for the group as a whole. We ask that you only apply if you can commit to this fully.

Times: 10am-5.30pm all days 

Venue: St Werburghs, Bristol (more details on booking) 

Group size: This workshop is designed for 12 people. If the course is oversubscribed, we will operate a reserve list. 

Cost: £900 (standard) / £750 (lower wage) / £600 (on benefits / in education). Please choose the tier that honestly reflects your current financial situation.

To find out about my new pricing structure check out this blog.

Application form here or below

Applications

• You need to be 18+ to attend this course

• You need to be committed to attending the whole course

• The course is open to anyone who feels drawn to it

• You do not need to have done any of Holly’s previous courses to apply although previous students will get priority. If you haven't studied with Holly before, please make sure you spend some time on your application so Holly can get a good sense of you

• We actively welcome applications from people from the Global Majority, people with disabilities and anyone who identifies as marginalised (because of your gender, sexuality, neurobiology or anything else). We believe that representation matters and we are eager to support fledgling facilitators from the margins to build their confidence to hold space for others. There is a section on the application form where you can tell us about your identity.

Application form: here or below

Application process: After the deadline we will select a group based on experience, reasons for wanting to attend, age and gender. We've found these courses work best when the group includes a broad variety of people.

Access info

We want diversity in our workshops! We want to support marginalized people / people with additional needs to be there! Please let us know about any access requirements on the application form and we will do our best to accommodate you. 

Holly is a trained and registered dramatherapist and delights in holding space for people with mental health issues. This course works for people with mild to moderate mental health issues.

This course is not appropriate for anyone who is currently experiencing major mental health issues like psychosis, suicidal adiation, etc. 

Holly is highly experienced in working with neurodivergent and LGBTQI+ people. She will create a brave space where you can bring yourself and your needs. 

Holly welcomes people with disabilities. The venue is wheelchair accessible - it has a wheelchair lift which takes you from ground floor level up 3 or 4 steps to the rest of the building, which is all one level. There is an accessible toilet with a sink in the cubicle. 

There are quiet spaces to rest in the building. 

Covid / cancellation info: See below

Hear some of the previous participants describe what they got out of The Well-Held Space:

More about Holly

For this course, Holly will be drawing on her considerable training and experience in: Dramatherapy (Southwest School of Dramatherapy MA), Creative Arts Supervision (Relight), Nonviolent Communication, Compassionate Inquiry, The Clearness Committee, The Thinking Environment, Action Learning, Open Space, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic IFS and Mindfulness / Meditation.

More about Holly's facilitation journey here. 

The Story of this course

This course was first conceived in 2021 at the tail end of the pandemic. We were all coming out of isolation and Holly wanted to offer her skills to support the people who hold space for other people, as we adjusted to a new reality. Holly ran two versions of this course - one in person and one online. Here’s what some of the participants said:

“A warm, well-held space to germinate and cultivate a facilitation practice.” 

“...a brilliant opportunity to build your confidence as a space holder and facilitator, to begin to consider and implement the vital and effective tools that Holly has used over the years in creating her astoundingly safe, nurturing and inspiring workshops.” 

From summer 2022-23, Holly took a year-long sabbatical, where she volunteered as a coordinator at a residential meditation retreat centre in Devon. She then went on to train in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Somatic IFS and has spent the last 3 years finding ways to combine all this learning with her life-long love of play. 

Holly brought back The Well-Held Space in January 2025 and has run it three times since then. The Well-Held Space continues to evolve, incorporating Holly's learning from her sabbatical year and subsequent IFS and Somatic IFS training. 

Holly is delighted to welcome the 6th cohort to The Well-Held Space, from October-December 2026!

Covid Care 

There are still people who are vulnerable to covid and Holly wants everyone to feel as safe as possible in the space. 

• We can't guarantee a Covid-free environment, but we can do our best to minimise the risks for people with compromised immunity and/or those who are connected with immune-compromised people.
• If you have any covid-like symptoms, please take a lat-flow test and please don't come if you have tested positive. 
• All exercises can work with social distancing, if that is what you need. Please make sure that physical proximity is consensual.
• You are welcome to wear a mask if that makes you feel safer. Holly will not be asking people to wear masks. 
• We will be working with windows open for ventilation, so please bring extra warm layers.
• We will have an open discussion and make a group agreement on the first day to make sure everyone feels safe and comfortable enough.

Cancellation Policy

We are a totally unfunded organisation - the only income we make is through these workshops. We work hard to keep our prices as affordable as possible, and cancellations can make that genuinely difficult. If you need to cancel your place, we will do our best to find a replacement, but this isn't always possible. Thanks in advance for your understanding.

• A £10 administration fee will be deducted from any refund to cover the cost of processing your cancellation.

• If you need to cancel your place before the course begins, full refunds can only be given up until one month before the course starts.

• Should you need to cancel after this date, 50% of your payment will be retained, unless your place can be suitably filled (we may be able to find a replacement, but the closer it is to the workshop, the less likely this becomes).

• For drop-outs within two weeks of the start of the course, your full fee will be retained.

• Your place on this course cannot be transferred to a future course. Each cohort is selected individually, and acceptance on one course does not guarantee a place on another - any future application would be considered alongside all other applicants at that time. You may not transfer your place to another person.

• If Holly needs to cancel this course for any reason, you will be offered alternative dates. If you are unable to attend the rescheduled dates, then we will offer a full refund.

“The name is spot on. It is an incredibly well held space to sew creative seeds, nurture the freshest of leaves as they taste the air, and bear witness to the birthing of brave facilitation processes.”

“A three-weekend imagining into how humans can be, play and create magic together!”

“A space for exploration, learning, nurturing your craft, an opportunity to meet other creative facilitators, a supportive environment to understand yourself and how to resource yourself first before thinking about supporting others.”