REFLECTIVE PRACTICE FACILITATION
The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) emphasises the importance of reflective practice as a cornerstone of professional development for housing professionals.
CIH's professional standards framework incorporates reflective practice as a key component, guiding housing professionals in their development and ensuring they meet the evolving needs of the communities they serve.
What is Reflective Practice?
Reflective practice is a structured opportunity to pause, consider, and make sense of professional experiences. It’s an invaluable tool for deepening self-awareness and enhancing professional growth.
In housing, where challenging situations are common, reflective practice is particularly valuable. By engaging in these sessions, your officers gain tools to process their experiences, celebrate achievements, and navigate challenges with fresh perspectives. Reflective practice can be transformative, supporting personal well-being alongside professional effectiveness.
The benefits of reflective practice are wide-ranging. For your officers, this process can reduce stress, prevent burnout, and help them feel more connected and supported within their team. It helps build resilience, strengthen problem-solving skills, and foster empathy, empowering them to respond to work demands with increased clarity and confidence.
In group reflective practice settings, it fosters a collaborative culture and improves morale, as team members learn from one another’s insights and share strategies for coping with difficult situations.
What to expect from a group session.
Reflective practice groups offer a safe, confidential space where officers can discuss their thoughts and feelings openly, knowing that these conversations are kept within the group. Through this collective wisdom, we build resilience, refine our approaches, and strengthen our ability to make a positive impact in our work.
Sessions often begin with a brief check-in, allowing everyone to share any pressing issues or recent experiences. Officers are encouraged to consider what happened, how it felt, what went well, what didn’t, and what could be learned or done differently.
Facilitated discussions allow each participant to reflect on personal insights, while also hearing different perspectives from the group. This collective approach not only helps in processing individual experiences but also strengthens team connections by fostering a sense of shared purpose and mutual support.
Throughout the session, confidentiality is upheld, ensuring that everyone feels safe to express themselves fully without fear of judgment or repercussion.
Where these discussions identify potential opportunities to change or enhance procedures, or policies, you will agree as a group how and when you want that to be shared.
As well as facilitating group reflective practice sessions, I can also support individuals who have experienced challenging situations through one to one practice.
find out more
If you’d like to know more about how I can facilitate reflective practice for your officers, please drop me a line.