Publications
Abi Canepa-Anson is a psychodynamic psychotherapist, writer, and activist with more than 16 years of clinical experience. Her written work bridges psychological insight with lived experience, and is driven by a commitment to making therapy genuinely accessible — particularly to those marginalised by race, culture, and systemic inequality.
Book: Parenting the Adopted Child — Beyond Love and Intention
Adoption is not only a story of love — it is also a story of loss, identity, and repair. Before adoption, there is rupture. A child loses connection to their first family, their roots, their beginnings. Love matters deeply, but love alone is not enough. What builds trust is the willingness to understand the grief beneath the behaviour, and to commit to repair over time.
In this book, I write from my work as a psychotherapist grounded in psychoanalytic thinking, attachment theory, emotional regulation, and developmental trauma. I also draw on years of clinical practice alongside adopted children, their parents, social workers, and adoption agencies — and from my own experience as a mother.
This is a book for those willing to move beyond the idea of adoption as rescue, and toward understanding it as a lifelong relationship of repair, meaning-making, and hope.
Book: This is Not a Safe Space
This is Not a Safe Space confronts what is left unsaid — in the consulting room, the training institution, and the culture at large. It is a work about race, psychotherapy, and the urgent work of bearing witness.
“The silence within our profession concerning racism is a dangerous silence — it hampers learning and awareness.” — Abi Canepa-Anson, BPC Newsletter, 2020
Academic Publications
- 2024
- 2020
Book a Lecture
Abi is available to speak with training institutes, healthcare organisations, universities, charities, and anybody serious about equity, race, and anti-racist practice. Her lectures draw on decades of clinical experience, lived experience of racism within psychotherapy training, and a deep commitment to the kind of witness that makes genuine change possible.
She brings to every engagement both intellectual rigour and unguarded personal honesty.
Available to speak with:
- Psychotherapy and counselling training institutes
- NHS trusts and healthcare organisations
- Universities and academic departments
- Charities and third sector organisations
- Corporate equality and inclusion teams
- Conferences and symposia