WHEN THE WORD IS FREE:

Conducting a Talking Circle with Inmates from APAC Santa Luzia

Abstract

This article describes the talking circles held over one semester as part of the extension project “Psychological Listening in the Prison System” at PUC Minas. The main goal was to promote qualified listening, subjective responsibility, and the strengthening of bonds among inmates in the prison context. The interventions were based on authors such as Pichon-Rivière and Maria Lúcia Afonso, who view the group as a space for the expression of the social unconscious and the construction of collective identity. The methodology encouraged the free flow of speech during the talking circles, fostering group cohesion and subjective transformation. The workshops were planned according to the inmates’ own demands, aligned with the project’s guidelines and the objectives of university extension. The results showed the effectiveness of engaged listening and bond-building, creating collective spaces for speech and processes of accountability and re-signification of participants’ experiences. For the extension students, the experience contributed to the development of theoretical and practical skills, highlighting the importance of further research on psychosocial practices in contexts of incarceration.