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Diversity and Equity in Clinical Supervision
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Buzzwords Explained: Reflective Practice
Key Takeaways
- Reflective practice fosters responsivity versus reactivity.
- It reduces burnout and promotes psychological safety in teams and in work with families.
- Our daily checklist can help early childhood professionals make reflective practice part of their routine.
Featured insight from:
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Clinical Consultation Manager, Safe Babies
Mike Sherman, Psy.D., is the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Clinical Consultation Manager for Safe Babies, a program of ZERO TO THREE.A licensed clin…
What is reflective practice?
Reflective practice is a tool that invites us to pause and slow down to become aware of thoughts, feelings and reactions that arise in everyday interactions.
We explore real life experiences in a mindful and introspective manner so that we can learn from them. Essentially, it’s all about being present and aware.
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What reflective practice in early childhood means:
We know each baby is different. Reflective practice encourages us to bring all of that wonderful nuance to the forefront of how we work with them.
- When presented with an issue or conflict, human nature means that most of us look for a quick solution. Reflective practice, instead, invites us to slow our responses down so that we avoid reacting and instead increase our ability to be responsive. Through this process we are more likely to arrive at a more thoughtful response — not necessarily the quickest.
- No baby is being raised in a vacuum. Relationships involve two or more persons. Reflective practice offers parents, teachers, clinicians, and early childhood professionals dedicated time to examine situations through various lenses. We consider the impact of culture, family, community, and society on each child.
ZERO TO THREE Board Member and child trauma expert, Chandra Gosh Ippen, developed this video to illustrate the importance of reflective practice in early childhood.
How reflective practice impacts early childhood:
Imagine two toddlers in a daycare classroom. Both children are refusing mealtimes and throwing food daily. At a quick glance, those may seem like typical toddler behaviors rooted in their desire for autonomy at this age.
While it may be as simple as that, reflective practice invites their teachers to dig a bit deeper. During regular meetings with their Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant (IECMHC), staff discuss their reflections and observations, each child’s unique history and personality, and input the teacher has received from parents.
By seeking more than a quick explanation, they’re able to determine that each child has very different reasons for choosing similar behavior. One child, a recent immigrant, is unsure about the unfamiliar food placed in front of him. The other child’s parents have recently added a new baby to their family, and she is struggling in all parts of her daily routine to assert control wherever possible.
By implementing reflective practice, these early childhood professionals can meet the needs of both children in a tailored manner.
This same approach can be used in clinicians’ offices, family courtrooms, childcare centers, preschools and even a family’s own home. That’s why we developed a daily checklist to make it part of each early childhood professional’s routine.
Cultivating antiracist, trauma-informed reflective practice.
What you can do:
It’s easy to make quick decisions, but the intentionality of reflective practice requires more time, energy and resources. We can foster responsivity versus reactivity.
Support families. This can be in big ways, like by advocating for policies that support families’ economic security or mental health. It can also be in small ways, like initiating a conversation using reflective practice during a routine home visit.
Get trained. By implementing reflective practice in early childhood organizations from the very top and across all levels of providers, practitioners, policymakers and parents who work with early childhood (i.e. child welfare, pediatric primary care, mental health, home visiting, maternal child health and early intervention), the early childhood field will build a culture driven by thoughtful and individualized approaches.
Support legislation. Reflective practice takes training, resources, and time. Unfortunately, those things are often some of the most difficult for professionals to access. Advocating for policies that support the early childhood workforce can help.
Reflective practice encourages being fully present in each interaction and building self and other awareness. The benefits are numerous, but it takes a team effort.
Essential Elements of Reflective Supervision and Consultation: The RIOS™ Framework
Dig Deeper: Reflective Leadership
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The Relationship Between Reflective Supervision/Consultation and Reduced Burnout Among Early Education Professionals
This study aimed to better understand the relationship between reflective supervision/consultation and burnout among ECE professionals.
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Reflective Practice and Program Development
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Honoring Race and Diversity in Reflective Supervision: Guiding Principles to Enhance Relationships
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What is Reflective Leadership?
Leadership takes place in the context of relationships, and quality relationships are crucial to good outcomes.
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Dig deep into reflective practice at the LEARN Conference.
Join thousands of the world’s most passionate educators, clinicians, advocates, policymakers and leaders for a dynamic conference dedicated to early childhood education, development, welfare and infant and early childhood mental health.
