This Is Not a Safe Space: Creating Human Connection in a World That Often Fails to Hear

By Abi Canepa-Anson

Therapy is never neutral. This is Not a Safe Space begins there, and asks what follows once we admit it.

Written in the wake of profound personal loss and shaped by sixteen years of clinical practice, this is a powerful and deeply personal exploration of what it means to truly listen. Through the author's experience as a Black woman therapist, it examines how racism, misogynoir, and other forms of systemic oppression shape mental health, relationships, and the therapeutic encounter itself.

Blending memoir, clinical insight, and critical reflection, the book explores how power, privilege, identity, and lived experience enter the therapy room, often in ways that remain unspoken, and asks what becomes possible when they are acknowledged with honesty and care. It's at once a call to action and an invitation to reflection, encouraging therapists, educators, and helping professionals to move beyond good intentions and toward deeper accountability, curiosity, and connection. It also offers readers a clearer understanding of the barriers many people face when seeking support, and what meaningful healing can look like once those barriers are recognised.

In a world increasingly divided by fear, misunderstanding, and silence, This is Not a Safe Space offers a compassionate vision of what becomes possible when we choose to listen differently.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1918992088
• ISBN13: 9781918992083
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Conscious Dreams Publishing
• Length: 266 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"