Significant events in ward based reflective practice groups

Reflective Practice (RP) is viewed as central to developing a mental health workforce equipped to deal with the challenges of modern service delivery. There is no single definition of what constitutes RP and the term is used to describe thinking about behaviour or the application of skills, processing emotional consequences of practice and attempting to make meaning about the nature of experience. There is scant evaluative literature on Reflective Practice Groups (RPG) and collecting the evidence available is hampered by the fact that a variety of terms are used to label RP activities undertaken by staff in a group setting.

This research project examined how staff make use of ongoing, regular, facilitated RPG by considering significant events occurring within them. Staff were recruited immediately after an RPG and asked to write a summary of what they found to be most significant about the session they had just attended. These written statements were collected and used as a focus for a follow up interview with 9 participants. These interviews were recorded and analysed using grounded theory methodology.

A process model of RPG was constructed from the data. This comprised of three related processes – a group process, an intrapersonal process and a moderating process which related to how psychological safety in the group is maintained. The creation and maintenance of a safe environment is a key task for the facilitator. This study also highlights that participants are active in sharing with the group in a way which manages the degree to which they feel exposed. The findings are discussed in terms of how participants utilise RPG and the consequent implications for policy and practice.