Method guide · Progress through phases
Loss Support Walk
Offer companionship and silence to someone speaking about loss or change, with participation and safety arrangements chosen in advance.
- People
- 2–20
- Base procedure time
- 45 minutes
- Recording
- Individual record
Purpose: Explore through dialogue; Reflect and learn.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
A method for showing support through companionship and silence to someone speaking about loss or change. Participation is voluntary. Arrange a person responsible for safety responses and a backup, same-day contact arrangements, local emergency contacts, professional support services, and a quiet break space in a separate room. In each pair, both people take 10 minutes each to speak and listen. With an odd number of participants, the remaining person pairs with a facilitator who is separate from the safety staff. A partner is not a professional support provider and does not give advice or a diagnosis, make physical contact, or handle emergencies. Each person chooses walking, sitting indoors, silence, a break, or leaving; only that person takes their notes home. This description is a substantial original adaptation of the current 2026 Liberating Structures method under CC BY-SA 4.0. Do not run it unless both the safety lead and backup are present and the emergency procedures can be carried out.
Phase schedule
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- Make confidentiality, support, and the route safe0–10 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Prepare. Participation: Everyone, the safety lead, and the backup.
Individual record
- Choose what to share and how to participate10–15 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Choose. Participation: Individually.
Individual record
- Accompany the first speaker in silence15–25 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Accompany. Participation: Pairs.
Individual record
- Check consent and switch to the second speaker25–35 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Switch. Participation: Pairs.
Individual record
- Check personal notes and support options, then close35–45 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Close. Participation: Individually, with the support person.
Individual record
Facilitation steps
- For 10 minutes, confirm the safety lead, backup, same-day contact arrangements, emergency contacts, and professional support services.
- For 5 minutes, each person chooses what to speak about, whether to walk, sit indoors, remain silent, take a break, or leave, and whom to pair with.
- For 10 minutes, the first person speaks while their partner accompanies them in silence, without giving advice, diagnosing, asking questions, or making physical contact.
- For 10 minutes, check both people's consent, switch to the second speaker, and accompany them in silence under the same conditions.
- For 10 minutes, each person writes only what they need on their own sheet and takes it home. Do not hold whole-group sharing. Remind participants of the available support services.
If something changes
If
Before starting, both the confidential support person and backup are absent, contact is unavailable, or professional support services cannot be identified.
Then
Do not start a conversation about experiences of loss. Offer only general information about rest and postpone to another day.
If
Even one person does not want to walk, speak, or continue, or the weather, lighting, changes in level, or sensory stimuli do not meet the safety conditions.
Then
Without asking for a reason, let the person choose sitting indoors, quiet individual writing, a break, or leaving. Do not hold whole-group sharing.
If
Even one indication of a risk of harm to self or others, acute distress, or a medical danger arises.
Then
Stop the conversation and note-taking, and move immediately to the local emergency contacts and on-site emergency procedures displayed in advance. If danger is imminent, do not hesitate to call emergency services. Do not place responsibility for judgement or response on the partner.
Preparation
Materials
- One blank recording sheet per person, for that person's use only
- One set of choice cards per person: speaking, listening, silence, sitting indoors, taking a break, and leaving
- One shared sheet of same-day contact details for the confidential support person and backup
- One sheet per person listing professional support services and emergency procedures
- One facilitator's safety checklist for the walking route and the seated indoor alternative
- One pen per person
Room and setup
- Before starting, display the confidential support person and backup, how to contact them that day, local emergency contacts, professional support services, and on-site emergency procedures. Cancel if both designated people are absent.
- Prepare a walking route checked for changes in level, lighting, weather, and sensory stimuli; enough separation so voices from different pairs do not overlap; a quiet break space in a separate room; and an equivalent seated indoor alternative.
- With an odd number of participants, pair the remaining participant with a facilitator who is separate from the safety staff. Both take 10 minutes each to speak and listen. A partner is not a professional support provider and does not give advice or a diagnosis, make physical contact, or handle emergencies. Allow not speaking, silence, breaks, and leaving. Do not hold whole-group sharing or make recordings.
Adjust for people and time
With 2–20 people, form pairs. With an odd number of participants, pair the remaining person with a facilitator who is separate from the safety staff; both take 10 minutes each to speak and listen. Do not share a pair's content outside the pair. With 21 or more people, divide participants into separate sessions of no more than 20. Provide a safety lead, backup, and a facilitator for odd participant counts in each session.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Participation is voluntary. Do not run this method unless both the safety lead and backup are present and emergency procedures can be carried out. A partner is not a professional support provider and does not advise, diagnose, ask questions during the listening rounds, make physical contact, or handle emergencies. Respect choices of silence, sitting indoors, breaks, and leaving without asking for reasons. Keep notes with their author; do not record or hold whole-group sharing. If a risk of harm, acute distress, or medical danger arises, stop the conversation and note-taking and follow the emergency procedures prepared in advance; do not make the partner responsible for responding.
Historical translation and source notes
These original notes are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. This historical label does not resolve a source-specific concern or establish current acceptance.
- The source guide requires both the safety lead and backup to be present, while the setup and first branch explicitly mention both being absent. This draft preserves the wording in each field; its safety summary retains the guide's requirement for both to be present rather than treating one available person as sufficient.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Liberating Structures: Five Structural Elements; Practice Insights
https://www.liberatingstructures.com/grief-walking
Adaptation under CC-BY-SA-4.0; changes made
- Conditions of CC-BY-SA-4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Current-page licence notice
This explanation is an adaptation for Taiwa no Fumen based on the official Liberating Structures page linked below. The manuscript's recorded references are listed separately from the web page checked on 17 October 2026.
Changes: the Japanese explanation and facilitation plan have been edited for Taiwa no Fumen. The English edition translates that Japanese manuscript; it is not a verbatim translation of the official page.
The LS-adapted text on this page, including this site's editorial and translation contributions, is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. When reusing it, credit the creators, identify the source and licence, indicate changes, and follow the licence's ShareAlike terms when sharing adaptations.
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Credits on the checked source page
- Prototyped by: Fisher Qua, Keith McCandless
- Prototyping group: Seattle LS User Group
Related work credited on that page: Stephen Jenkinson; Joanna Macy.
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: Grief Walking.
Source lineage
- Original repertoire (2013): Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
- 2026 Fieldbook: Keith McCandless, Nancy White
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International · Legal code · Official source policy
This material-specific notice does not itself establish publication clearance. Preserved manuscript references above remain separate from the current page's credits and licence evidence.
Diagram, print, and video language
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Editorial provenance
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