Reflective Practice What is reflection? What is reflective practice in social work?   What do we mean by the “Use of self” in social work. What do we mean by impact on self and self awareness?

What is Reflection? Contemplation  Attentive consideration  Contemplation  To consider meditatively (that, how, why etc) “A process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and to inform learning about practice”(Reid, 1994) Returning to an incident or experience and recording it Consider it in detail at an emotional and cognitive level Re-evaluate it in light of experience, knowledge and experimentation. Seek to understand the meaning of the experience To plan for what you might change. (Boud et al 985)  

What is Reflective Practice?  Looking back on what you have done and why Considering (Thinking) about your actions and outcomes- now that you know what you know Contemplating (Thinking) and acknowledging the actions, feelings and outcomes of you and of others involved Evaluating your performance, the outcomes, the learning and the things you may need to change or to work on. Getting the space to determine a way forward and to develop a plan, which recognises all of the things you have reflected on. Planning further action –changing something -putting the learning into practice

‘Reflective practice begins from the premise that human problems cannot be solved by the simple application of technical solutions. People’s problems are far to complex and ‘messy’ to be resolved in this way.’ (Thompson,N., 2009) Reflection involves identifying how you feel about something that has happened... It leads to emotional intelligence Its about conscious competence , knowledge and recognition of what is going on when it is going on . (Goleman 1995)

Use of Self and Self Awareness What is self -awareness? Understanding of one’s emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs and drives How we come across to others Knowing how situations effect us Knowing how we effect others

Exercise 1 to build Reflection   Think about a challenging interaction that happened to you when you were in practice or a personal situation and work through Gibbs’ cycle as follows: (or use the video) Description: Describe factually what happened during your this situation. Feelings: What were you thinking and feeling at the time? Evaluation: List what you were aware of positive and negative of the experience. Analysis: What sense can you make out of the situation? What does it mean? Conclusion: What else could you/ they have done? What should you perhaps not have done? Action plan: If it arose again, what would you do differently? How will you adapt your practice in the light of this new understanding?

Exercise 2 on Reflective Practice Use the following pictures to do the same thing .

Declan Hainey A fatal accident inquiry has found the death of toddler Declan Hainey may have been avoided if care agencies properly supervised his mothers addiction. His mummified body was found in his cot in March 2010 - eight months after he was last seen alive. Kimberley Hainey was jailed in 2012 for her son's murder but her conviction was later quashed on appeal. The inquiry found parental neglect was a factor in his death along with failures among social care teams. Social Work did not gain access to the house in that time.

Runaway girls leap to their deaths in Erskine Bridge suicide pact Runaway girls leap to their deaths in Erskine Bridge suicide pact! Two teenage girls leapt hand in hand from a 125 foot high bridge after running away from a residential care home

Runaway girls leap to their deaths in Erskine Bridge suicide pact! Neve Lafferty, 15, was grieving for her boyfriend who died suddenly earlier this year when she jumped with Georgia Rowe, 14, off the Erskine Bridge The pair had escaped from the Good Shepherd Centre, a residential unit for young women with social, emotional and behavioural problems six miles away. Witnesses saw them leap holding hands from the bridge. After a major search operation involving police, the girl’s bodies were pulled from the water and flown to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow but they were pronounced dead on arrival. Strathclyde police said there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances surrounding their deaths. (The Times, October 6, 2009)  

Exercise -Again to build Reflection   Description: What's going on in these pictures - Describe factually what you see in this situation. Feelings: What were you thinking and feeling ? Evaluation: What are you aware of about these pictures and the experience. Analysis: What sense can you make out of these situations? What does it mean to you? Conclusion: What else could have been done? Action plan: If you come across this situation what would you do differently/ remember ? How will you adapt your practice in the light of this new understanding?

‘The impact on self’ Exercise in pairs. How did the pictures make you feel? Were you aware of your feelings and emotions at the moment? What is self awareness? How would these feelings help you if you were involved in these situation? What would help you manage your feelings in social work and on placement?

Self-awareness ,Reflection –mindful! Self-awareness -understanding and managing your emotions and the emotions of those around you Taking notice of what is going on within you and out-with you. Paying attention to what is going on – in detail and with focus Drawing on and selecting our professional knowledge (formal & informal) to use it purposefully.  Considering , thinking on our feet – imaginatively and creatively to direct our behaviour . Focusing our thinking and to gain emotional control to learn from our experience and change something  Being mindful the opposite is mindlessness!

Reflection and Social Work Reflection is fundamental to learning and that it provides a basis for future action. We cannot learn from our actions unless we are aware of the consequences of our behavior. There is a gap between what we think and what we do- 'espoused theory'- and what our behavior shows- 'theory in use' (Argyris and Schön, 1978). Emotional intelligence can be learned – reflection can be learned!

Where Does Self- Awareness fit in?   It’s the foundation of professional practice The Origins of Self. (values & conditioning) The Current Self. (Personal development) The Thinking and Feeling Self. The Helping Self. Self-View of Others. Others View of Self. Self as a Social Worker. Self in Relation to Power and Authority.

Self -Awareness and Social Workers A lack of self-awareness can be damaging & disempowering when working with vulnerable individuals It can lead to a lack of reflective skills and ability which constitutes dangerous practice Each individual (student) social worker has to establish how we are seen by others and how we come across to others  As this impacts on the helping relationship and can create barriers to the work Self- Awareness leads to building more reflective skills and conscious competence.  

Why Reflect?(Lishman, 2002; Cree & Macauley, 2001; Payne, 2002)   acknowledge our value base improves practice assist in evaluation of practice. helps us be self-aware and consider our own needs. motivation for social work helps us manage complexity and uncertainty assist personal learning and development manage feelings, pain, stress etc manage change. encourages greater accountability identify limitations, gaps and areas for improvement relies upon use of range of knowledge encourages experimentation with alternative approaches To aid transferability

Reflection-In-Action and On-Action  Reflection-in-action- thinking on our feet, as we do it. Being aware of what is going on in us and around us Being present It relies upon a developed knowledge base Developed skills Analytical skills Professional confidence and judgement    Reflection-on-action-reflecting upon our practice after the event Stepping back and pausing to look, listen and contemplate -not simply accepting what we read or hear at face value. Making the connections between thoughts and actions Consciously looking at something and considering our experiences, actions, feelings and responses and analysing them to learn from them or change something

So Why Reflect? To avoid mindlessness   To avoid routinised mechanical practice, as this can: Standardise users and approaches Leads to a lack of awareness and analysis Produces incomplete information on which to act Produces stereotypes Leads to oppression Limits, learning, change and growth (Thompson, 2000) To avoid mindlessness

Reflection avoids. Defensive, Defeatist and Dangerous Practice will. Defensive Practice Defeatist Practice Dangerous Practice Defensive, Defeatist and Dangerous Practice will.   Limits engagement with service users and other professionals Stifles Empowerment   Puts undue emphasis upon risk and unprepared to take risks.  Means you have incomplete information upon which to act.  Creates no learning and limits your own development.

Avoiding Dangerous Practice. To avoid Defeatist practice   accept limitations on our practice.   change may be small or take time.   sometimes we succeed by merely keeping things stable.   celebrate our successes.   talk about failures and seek support.   be realistic and do your best.   To avoid Dangerous /chaotic practice   manage time and workload.   set priorities.   keep people informed.   be realistic about achievements. Check facts- use emotional intelligence To avoid Oppressive practice   recognise discrimination and how we/agency contribute to it.   avoid stereotyping.   use appropriate language.   appropriate use of power. (Thompson, 2000)

Last Word “In the varied topography (environment) of professional practice, there is a high, hard ground where practitioners can make effective use of research-based theory and technique, and there is a swampy lowland where situations are confusing “messes” incapable of technical solution. The difficulty is that the problems of the high ground, however great their technical interest, are often relatively unimportant to clients or to the larger society, while in the swamp are the problems of the greatest human concern.”   Donald A. Schön, The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action (New York: Basic Books Inc., 1983) at 42

What does all this mean! Reflection helps build emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence builds self awareness Self awareness protects us and avoids dangerous practice Helps builds our emotional resilience Helps us to handle feelings/emotions in social work Promotes mindfulness of what's going on when its going on! Builds our conscious competence .

References Cree, V. & McCauley (2001) Transfer of Learning. Handbook for Social Work Trainers, East Sussex, Psychology Press Gould, N. and Taylor, I(1996) Reflective Practice in Social Work Arena Goleman, D . (1996) Emotional Intelligence. Bloomsbury, London Kolb, D. A.(1984) Experiential Learning. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall PTR Lishman, J (2002) Personal and Professional Development in Adams, R., Dominelli, M. & Payne, M (2002) Social Work: Themes, Issues and Critical Debates, 2nd Ed, Basingstoke, Palgrave MacMillan Schon, D.(1983) The Reflective Practitioner, Basic books, Temple Smith, London Thompson,N., (2009) People Skills, (3rd Ed), Basingstoke, Palgrave MacMillan Thompson, N., (2000) Understanding Social Work. Preparing for Practice, Basingstoke, Palgrave MacMillan