Baring Your Soul in a Room Full of Strangers
<p>It<strong>was a private sharing session.</strong> In a circle, there were about 15 of us, all women, waiting to take turns to participate in what is known as <em>a magical conversation</em>. Led by a life coach with qualification in Group Psychotherapy, it was designed to be a safe space, a term that remains challenging for many, especially victims of trauma.</p>
<p>I was there on special invitation to participate and to witness how a magical conversation works. It was the first time I’d heard of it. I doubt I ever got around to fully grasping the concept. According to the coach, it was an attempt to get people together (ideally both men and women) and to navigate through difficult conversations with the support, compassion and leadership led by everyone in the group. It was about healing, about leaning on each other.</p>
<p>By experts’ definition, group psychotherapy allows participants to “capitalize on developmental and healing possibilities embedded in the interpersonal/intrapersonal functioning of individual group members as well as collectively for the group.” From what I had read, “Conversational magic builds trust as conversations connect our authentic selves with others and assure them of our reliability and credibility.” Those are big shoes to fill. For some, a boulder too big to push up a hill alone. As a newcomer, I was unsure where I stood.</p>
<p>At first I saw it as a common group therapy. I guess it was, but it was paramount I used the word “magic”.</p>
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