The Norwegian Nobel Committee will begin six weeks of mandatory group therapy on Monday. The move follows emails in the Epstein Files showing ties between former chairman Thorbjorn Jagland and Jeffrey Epstein. The five members will meet in a small room in Oslo and be invited to sit with what the prize has been carrying.
The sessions replace the usual autumn deliberations. A committee spokesperson said the medal itself would attend as a silent participant. It will rest on a cushion in the centre of the room so members can practise naming their feelings in front of it.
"We ask each member to turn to the medal and say, 'I see you, and I see what you have been asked to hold,'" the spokesperson said. "Nobody leaves until the prize feels heard."
Facilitators will work within a trauma-informed framework. Any member who answers "neutrality" when asked what they are feeling will be gently redirected. Neutrality, the handbook notes, is a defence mechanism and not a feeling.
This year's laureate, Navi Pillay, is unaffected, though the committee has admitted it struggled to reach her by phone. The spokesperson said the group would explore in week three why it finds calling people so hard.
