Day 54 / 14:05
‘Today,’ says Ms Turner, ‘I want to try something different.’
Everyone groans.
Noah lets a sigh escape. Not 1 session follows any sort of structure. They’ve all been different; that’s the only consistent thing about group so far.
Ms Turner’s handing out sheets of paper. There’s his name in the middle of the circle in the very centre of the page. Radiating from it are spokes, each with a new circle at their end. Inside each circle are words: hobbies, food, music, holidays, time of day, relaxation, clothing.
What does she want now?
‘This is an extension of your “5 Things” sheets,’ says Ms Turner. ‘I’d like you to create a mindmap about yourself.’
She’s standing at the whiteboard at the end of the room, drawing a circle around her own name. Ellen Turner. Inside another circle at the end of a spoke, she writes Clothing, then comfortable, casual. Another circle, another line and then the words hates high heels. Now she’s writing Food, and then, in a series of circles and lines, some of the things she likes or hates to eat (including pears).
‘List them as you think about them,’ says Ms Turner. ‘The things you like to eat, or the things you hate to wear. You can move on to what you like to do for fun, your favourite places.’ She’s handing out pencils and clipboards for them to lean on. ‘This shouldn’t take more than ten minutes or so,’ she says. ‘And then we can compare notes.’