When someone receives a cancer diagnosis, much of the attention naturally turns to the person undergoing treatment. The partner organizing appointments, the adult child managing phone calls or the friend providing everyday support can become almost invisible. Australian practitioner and author Karen Humphries places those people at the center of Holding the Helper, a new book scheduled for release on October 18, 2026.
The book addresses the strain of supporting someone through diagnosis, treatment and recovery, drawing on ideas from Polyvagal Theory, Somatic Experiencing and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Rather than concentrating only on advice about managing responsibilities, Humphries organizes her material around the caregiver’s own emotional and bodily responses during a demanding period.
Forty practices designed for different moments
Holding the Helper follows four stages of the cancer experience, beginning with the uncertainty before diagnosis and moving through treatment, recovery and the challenge of asking for help. Its second half contains a 40-card Somatic Toolbox, with short body-oriented exercises matched to different phases of that journey.
The toolbox is designed to be consulted when a caregiver needs a particular kind of support, rather than necessarily read from beginning to end. Humphries also created nine guided meditations connected to the chapters, offering more than three hours of audio. The recordings are already accessible to people who order the book ahead of its print release, with access information also planned for the printed edition.
The practical format reflects a familiar problem in caregiving: personal needs rarely arrive at a convenient time. A person might have only a brief moment between hospital visits or after everyone else has gone to sleep. Short, identifiable practices and chapter-linked audio are intended to make the material easier to revisit during those gaps.
Written from experience on both sides
Humphries has worked for more than two decades across counselling, kinesiology, hypnotherapy, meditation and related wellbeing approaches. She also identifies herself as someone who has experienced breast cancer. That combination of professional work and personal experience informs the book’s attention to the person who is giving care as well as the person receiving it.
Her account uses the image of a highly alert ‘meerkat state’ to describe the vigilance some caregivers may recognize in themselves. This is her explanatory metaphor, not a medical diagnosis. The exercises and reflections are presented as supportive resources and should not be confused with treatment or a substitute for professional healthcare.
The release also includes supplementary materials for practitioners working with caregivers, such as a workbook and journaling resources. But the book’s principal audience is broader: partners, relatives, siblings and friends who may struggle to acknowledge their own needs while helping somebody else.
By treating the caregiver as a person who also requires attention, Holding the Helper offers a concrete contribution to the conversation about support during cancer, with a format built for moments when sustained reading may be difficult.
Source: Karen Humphries
Web: https://www.karenhumphries.net.au/holding-the-helper/
