About Raj

Hello,
I'm Raj

I'm a certified mindset and trauma-informed coach, TEDx speaker, published author and ordained minister.

My work supports women who have lived through abuse, trauma and long seasons of survival, as well as organisations, churches and communities who want honest, grounded conversations about resilience, identity, truth and rebuilding.

Whether you are here to explore coaching, considering booking me to speak, or simply wanting to understand more about my work and story, you are in the right place.

My story

My story, and why I do this work

Raj Holness featured in Once Upon a Time in Birmingham

My work grew from a life I never expected to live.

I survived domestic and spiritual abuse, attempted forced marriages and repeated threats to my life. For a long time, survival shaped how I saw myself, my choices and my future.

Rebuilding did not happen through one breakthrough moment. It happened gradually, through truth, faith, support, boundaries and learning to trust myself again.

Today, I use both lived experience and professional practice to help others understand that what happened to them may have shaped their lives, but it does not have to determine what they build next.

Lived understanding, not just training

I do this work from lived experience as well as professional practice

I know what it is to live with fear, confusion, and the weight that trauma can carry. I also know what it takes to rebuild safety, self-trust and direction over time.

You will not be required to retell every detail of what happened, or prove that your experience was serious enough to deserve support. I understand the quiet impact trauma has on identity, confidence and decision-making, because I've walked that road myself.

This lived understanding shapes how I listen, how I speak, and how I hold space. Alongside it, I hold professional certification as a mindset and trauma-informed coach, and I am a Senior Fellow Member of the ACCPH.

My approach

Grounded in lived experience.
Delivered with integrity, care and respect.

In coaching

My coaching is trauma-informed, paced, and grounded in emotional safety and choice. Recovery is not linear, and healing cannot be rushed. Support meets you where you are, not where you are expected to be.

Thinking more clearly when you feel stuck
Emotional steadiness and self-regulation
Boundaries, choice and self-trust
Perspective without judgement or pressure

This is not therapy and it is not crisis support. It is a supportive, ethical coaching practice rooted in respect, honesty and care.

Explore coaching

In speaking

My speaking is honest, grounded, and rooted in lived experience rather than theory alone. I speak at churches, organisations, community groups, conferences and national platforms, shaping every talk around the audience.

Safe but courageous conversations
Audiences who feel genuinely seen
Trauma, resilience, faith and identity
Practical awareness and insight for teams

Whether you need a keynote, a workshop or a panel contribution, I bring both personal testimony and professional expertise to every platform.

Book me to speak

In training

My training combines trauma-informed principles, practical guidance and lived understanding. I help teams recognise the impact of trauma, respond safely to disclosures, communicate with care and understand where their responsibilities begin and end.

Practical, not awareness only
Safe responses to disclosure
Clear professional boundaries
Relevant to your setting

Grounded in real-world experience, and shaped around the people your organisation supports and the situations they meet.

Enquire about training

Faith and ministry

Faith, choice and spiritual safety

My faith is part of who I am. It informs my values of truth, integrity, compassion and hope, and it shapes the way I show up for every person I work with.

I am an ordained minister with years of experience serving within faith communities. I understand both the comfort and the profound complexity that spiritual life can hold.

I also understand, from personal experience, the deep harm that can come when faith is misused, weaponised or imposed. Spiritual abuse is real, and its impact on identity, trust and recovery is significant. I hold this with great care in everything I do.

Faith is never forced into my work. It is offered only where it is appropriate, welcome and safe. For some, faith is a source of strength and grounding. For others, it has been a place of deep pain and betrayal. Both realities are fully respected here.

If you are a church, faith organisation or community group looking for a speaker who understands this complexity from the inside, I would be honoured to bring this conversation to your audience.

Raj Holness by a cross, Made for a Purpose

Professional standards and boundaries

Held to clear ethical standards

I am a certified mindset and trauma-informed coach and a Senior Fellow Member of the ACCPH (Accredited Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists).

I am currently completing a Level 5 Diploma in Trauma-Informed Coaching, reflecting my commitment to ongoing learning and professional development.

My work is always delivered within clear ethical boundaries and trauma-aware principles. I work within the scope of coaching practice at all times, and take my responsibility to the people I support seriously.

Recognition, media and advocacy

Recognised for advocacy, leadership
and community impact

Raj Holness receiving the Women of Excellence Award at Parliament — Women of Excellence, Parliament

Raj Holness at the Asian Business Awards — Asian Business Awards

Raj Holness at 10 Downing Street — 10 Downing Street

Over the years my work has been recognised nationally and locally, across business, community and women's empowerment.

I have had the honour of being invited to speak at the House of Lords as part of the From Victims to Heroines event in 2018, and at 10 Downing Street as part of my ongoing advocacy work for women and children affected by abuse.

In 2019 I was selected as one of only thirty women to feature in Once Upon a Time in Birmingham, a celebrated book honouring Birmingham's most inspiring women, alongside globally recognised names including Malala Yousafzai, Olympic champion Denise Lewis, and bestselling author Kit de Waal.

I am also a TEDx speaker, sharing my talk "Why Me?", and my story and work have featured across television, radio, print and national platforms.

Selected awards

2020 National Entrepreneur Awards, Most Inspiring Business Person of the Year, Finalist
2020 Asian Women's Award, Social & Humanitarian, Finalist
2018 Universal Peace Federation, Women of Excellence Award
2017 Forward Ladies National Inspiring Leader Award, Highly Commended
2016 Community Champion, Asian Business Award
2015 West Midlands Woman of the Year

A full award and media history is available on request.

Television

ITV News, TBN UK, UCB TV and Revelation TV, discussing The Only Arranged Marriage and my journey from abuse to advocacy.

Radio

Premier Christian Radio, UCB Radio, BBC Radio WM and Newstyle Radio, on domestic abuse, forced marriage, faith and survivor recovery.

Print & publications

Keep the Faith, Fused and Dluxe magazines. Featured in Inspirational Women, Inspirational Lives, raising funds for Katie Piper's Foundation.

National platforms

Invited speaker at the National Commission on Forced Marriage UK, and for Responsible Finance UK on gender equality and women's enterprise.

House of Lords & Downing Street

Invited to the House of Lords in 2018 for the From Victims to Heroines event, and to 10 Downing Street for ongoing advocacy work.

TEDx

TEDx speaker sharing my talk "Why Me?", exploring how changing the question helped reshape my understanding of survival and purpose.

Hello,I'm Raj