Module 1 · Activity 2a
The Letter
You encounter a prisoner who is angry and distressed after receiving an official letter about his son, who is in hospital in his home country.
As you explore the situation, it becomes clear that the anger may be connected to fear, helplessness and a deeply hidden difficulty with reading.
As you work through it, consider not only what the prisoner says, but also what he avoids saying, doing and showing.
The challenge: How do you look beyond the visible behaviour and create enough safety for someone to ask for help?
Before decision 1 of 3
Something is wrong1/4
A busy prison accommodation wing.
You are working at the desk when you hear shouting.
A man in prison, Alexander, approaches quickly.
He is visibly distressed and angry.
Your place and choices in this scenario are saved on this device only.
Facilitator guidance
- Shame can arise precisely at the moment when a difficulty becomes visible. It may appear as silence, avoidance, excuses, withdrawal, apparent indifference — or anger.
- Simple actions help: speaking privately where possible, avoiding asking someone to demonstrate a difficulty in front of others, giving information in manageable steps, checking understanding rather than simply asking “Do you understand?”, and normalising the need for clarification.
Source: FLEX-ability Trainer's Manual, Module 1.
Printable materials
No printable materials have been supplied for this activity yet.
Your progress and saved responses are stored only in this browser on this device. They do not sync to other devices and are not sent anywhere.