The concept of "holding" was coined by Donald Winnicott in 1960 in a paper on the relationship of infants and parents and has since seen evolving use in the field of psychotherapy.
Donald Winnicott coined the concept of "holding" in psychology in 1960 in a paper discussing the relationship of parents and infants.
Plett described the term as: "being willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they're on, without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome".
[3][5][6]: 200 The phrase "holding space" further gained rapid popularity outside of the field of psychology in November 2024 following an interview between Tracy E. Gilchrist and actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande during a press tour interview for the 2024 musical fantasy film Wicked, based on the first act of the stage musical of the same name.
In the interview, Gilchrist says to Erivo and Grande that audiences were "holding space" with the lyrics of "Defying Gravity," the musical's signature song.