“A generic term for those intellectual and affective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understanding and appreciations” (Boud et al., 1985).

“A special kind of practice…[that] involves a systematic enquiry into the practice itself (Peters, 1991).

“The essential part of learning because it involves making sense of, or extracting meaning from, experience” (Osterman, 1990).

"A process of looking back on what has been done and pondering on it and learning lessons from what did or did not work…the act of deliberation, when the practitioner consciously stops and thinks what shall I do now?" (Conway, 1994).

A big part of reflection is considering the reasons why the situation happened, what could have been done differently and importantly, planning to develop your practice as a result of this new learning. Therefore, reflection is important for continually enhancing clinical practice! 

–Our beliefs and values

–How our own experiences could colour our opinion of other people’s experiences

–How our culture may affect our own emotional expression, and that may differ from other cultures

-The impact of our own beliefs / family scripts and narratives / experiences of parenting on our therapeutic alliance, and potential ruptures in therapy

These points are improtant for consideration when working clinically. As part of your role as a CWP/EMHP, you may find it useful to capture some of your reflections throughout your working, through a blog, diary or log (being mindful of confidentiality). Utilising supervision is crucial for helping acknowledge the influence of these experiences in a clinical setting and helping develop and shape your practice. 

Going back to your experiences in your interview, what relevant literature and theories can you find to support (or go against) your experiences? Taking a critical stance is important in reflective writing, so find evidence that go against your experiences is also valid!

Discuss in your groups and add a piece of literature per group to the comments section on this Padlet. Please add an explanation as to how this literature fits within your reflection