Job shadowing as therapy of the soul and body, Madeira 2025

This week in Funchal was true therapy—for both body and soul. I dove right in: during the first two days I led my own sessions, helping participants embrace themselves and reconnect with their inner strength. Watching people rediscover their power affirmed, more than anything, that I’m on the right path.

Over the next five days, I shifted into the role of observer and student. I immersed myself in my colleagues’ work, analyzing how various approaches impacted vulnerable groups and noting which ideas could be adapted. Each evening I recorded my insights and reflected on how to apply these practices with people facing serious illnesses.

This journey was profoundly personal for me. Having lost my parents to cancer many years ago, I feared reopening old wounds—but instead I found renewed faith in the inexhaustible resilience of each individual. I realized that my gift isn’t to “fix” someone’s pain, but to support them in uncovering their own inner fortress.

Now I feel energized and clear about how to organize local projects and activities for people with serious health challenges. Together with my colleagues, we’re planning to create a comprehensive guide of tried-and-true practices that others can use to hold similar sessions in their communities.

This experience reminded me of one fundamental truth: true healing begins when we meet ourselves and extend that support to one another. I’m ready to move forward, helping anyone who has lost hope to find it again in their own heart.

Svetlana Smirnova