Activity 2.3 Chair sculpture of stigma

ACT Processes:

• Acceptance

Objectives:

• Identify the use of avoidance and control strategies to avoid internalized stigma and other unwanted thoughts and feelings and their costs
• Observe that despite best efforts, avoided thoughts and feelings persist
• Foster acceptance of avoided thoughts and feelings, including internalized stigma

Participation Format:

• At the start, the group is sitting in a horseshoe shape. After orientation, Facilitator #1 will put his/her chair in the centre. As outlined in the instructions below, participants will one by one pile their chairs in the middle around the facilitator’s chair. After debriefing, the participants will retrieve their chairs and reseat themselves for final debriefing of the exercise.

Number of Facilitators:

• 2

Time Required:

• 40 mins

Materials Required:

• Chairs that participants are sitting on;
• Post-it notes (optional)

Activities & Instructions

Instructions for participants

1. Introduction
   Facilitator #1 describes the overall purpose of the exercise.
   • Have you ever been stigmatized or shamed in some way by others? In this exercise, we will explore how we deal with these thoughts and feelings that come up.

2. Set up the space
   Facilitator #2 stands up and pushes his/her own chair to the centre of the room.
3. Physicalize our internalized stigma and shame.
   Facilitator #1 asks participants to share some common thoughts and feelings that are associated with stigma and shame.
   • If you are willing, think back to an instance when you were shamed and stigmatized by others. What kinds of feelings and thoughts came up for you?
   • See if you can project these unwanted thoughts and feelings on to the chair…these are the thoughts and feelings you wish to disappear or avoid…this chair is now the Chair of Shame.

4. Identify coping and control strategies and form the Chair Sculpture of Shame
   Facilitator #1 asks participants to share their way of coping with stigma and shame. As each of the participants takes a turn to respond, ask them to get up, use their chair to represent their coping strategy, place their chair in a representative relationship to the center chair, and return to stand at their original spot. As participants contribute their coping strategies, a pile of chairs will be haphazardly stacked or placed in the middle of the room, and many participants will be left standing around it.
   • Can anyone share with us how you have dealt with these thoughts and feelings that come up for you when you feel stigmatized or shamed? How do you cope? How do you help yourself feel better?
   • Thanks for sharing… can you please stand-up? Let your chair represent this coping strategy – this is now the ‘Chair of [type of coping strategy]’…
   • Can you please show us how your coping strategy relates to your feelings of stigma and shame – by placing your ‘Chair of [type of coping strategy]’ in a representative way in relationship to the centre ‘Chair of Shame’? You can position your own chair in any way – e.g. upside down or on the side – anywhere you like – e.g. stacked on top of the centre chair or far away from it… you cannot move the centre chair though…
   • Thanks … can you please return to where you were and keep standing? Who else would like to share next?

5. Observe and reflect the Sculpture
   Facilitator #1 asks the group to observe and reflect on their experience and the mass of chairs in front of them. 
   • Would anyone like to share what you observe here?
   • We can call this our Chair Sculpture of Shame.

Important points of discussion to draw out include:

1. 1. Empathize with our human efforts against suffering
      It seems like that we all try quite hard to cope with our unwanted emotions and thoughts when we feel hurt; we do try our very best, and it’s not our lack of trying
      • We are quite creative too, and we use many different strategies
      • Do you notice that you may use some of the strategies that others have mentioned too? Observe our common struggle against the issue of shame and stigma
   2. Persistence of hurtful thoughts and feelings
      • What has happened to the Chair of Shame? Has it disappeared?”
      • Though it may be surrounded or even buried, it’s still there.
   3. Cost of our efforts – Explore the costs of our avoidance and control efforts, including the time, energy, activities, and opportunities expanded.
      • What are the costs of our efforts?”
      • Notice – how much space does our sculpture take up? Does it just take over the space in the room and our collective energy and attention? …just as it is that we may find our lives revolve around trying to cope with our hurt and our pain, with our coping strategies adding to our suffering and taking up so much space in our lives…”
      • Notice – are you able to sit? Instead of sitting comfortably as a group, we are left standing, as we expand and sacrifice our energy – our very own chairs.We are even pushed to the periphery and up against the wall if we put more chairs in the middle.
   4. Looking at the function of our actions rather than judging them categorically
      • Notice that you may be drawn to judge the strategies that are mentioned and even label some of them as good strategies and some of them as bad.Yet when we use any of them to avoid and control, they only add to the Sculpture of Shame
      • Tthe good strategies – it’s not that we should not do them, but when we use them to avoid and control our thoughts and feelings, you can see what happens.So, if you meditate or exercise – do this in the service of your values, rather than using them to control and avoid your thoughts and feelings.

6. Acceptance: dismantle the sculpture and release the chairs.
   Have the participants take back their own chairs and return to their seats, leaving only the facilitator’s Chair of Shame in the centre. Ask them to reflect on the difference between the Sculpture and the lone Chair.
   • Please take a last look at our Chair Sculpture of Shame.If you could please retrieve your chair and return to your seats Observe again the Chair of Shame,what is this like now?”
   • What is it like if we simply accept the sculpturebe willing to have it here with us?

References & Sources

• Based on Fung, K. P., & Zurowski, M. (2016). Chair Sculpture of Suffering.
• Inspired by Box Full of Stuff Metaphor (Hayes et al, 1999, p 136-138)