Critical reflection provides opportunities for us to examine what happens when we are with rangatahi, to explore what might be underneath their actions and responses and to think about how our mahi is supporting their growth and change. Alongside this, it is a time to think about how we are managing our own emotional responses and boundaries (Garfat & Fulcher, 2008; McMahon, 2018).
Creating and looking after the relationship with rangatahi is such an important part of our mahi. It is the way we work with rangatahi to build change. Making sure that it stays on track is therefore an important, ongoing task.
Our mahi is often hidden – a lot of the time we meet and work with rangatahi on our own. There is no-one watching us as we do this. So, we do not have regular ways of getting feedback from other people about how we are doing. This can be risky for us and for rangatahi.
Critical reflection, (some people refer to it as supervision or coaching) helps to make sure that our practice is safe and that we stay on track. It is where we open ourselves up to feedback from other people about our practice.
The purpose of reflection processes is to improve the quality of the young person’s experience of the relationship. The quality of that relationship is the way that change is achieved (Duncan, Miller & Sparks, 2007; Garfat & Fulcher, 2008).
Critical reflection can happen with peers, supervisors or managers. This reflection relationship is also a place to talk about the impact our mahi is having on us as people and to replenish our energy, so we keep our focus on rangatahi and their goals. Emma Webber-Dreadon (2020) talks of this process of critical reflection as kaitiakitanga. She suggests this way of thinking about it, has a better fit with a te ao Māori way of providing spaces for kaimahi to reflect on their practice and its impact on those they support, as well as themselves.
Reflection can help us to ask questions about the relationship and change our approach when needed.
Transparency
Relationships thrive in the open. Critical reflection is a way of opening the relationship up to external views. Our mahi is strengthened when we have input from other people, and our ability to build effective relationships improves as a result. The more people looking at and thinking about the relationship the stronger it is likely to be and the more skilled we become at our mahi.
It can be helpful to think of critical reflection as similar to our expectations that rangatahi will be open to our questions. We often expect them to think critically about their lives and to be honest about themselves. Us being open to outside views of our mahi is the same kind of thing. It also reminds us that we do not have all the answers and gives us opportunities to learn from the experiences and insights of others (see The helping alliance).
For critical reflection to work, we need to be open to people (including ourselves) asking us questions about what we do and why. This can be hard. Just as with rangatahi, questions need to be respectful, and we may need support to learn how to hear and give negative and positive feedback.
Organisational cultures are important here. Positive ways of responding to mistakes are important as is the ability to give feedback in ways that that help people move forward. It can take time to get to a point where we are all able to work in this way. One way that organisations can help is to ensure that kaimahi are supported to allocate time for critical reflection. This reflection needs to be a regular and ongoing part of the mahi. Even if kaimahi feel that there are no urgent issues to discuss they should still take time for critical reflection as it is a time of learning and growth that will enhance their relationships with rangatahi. Critical reflection does not only happen in times of crisis.
Managing boundaries & the friend-like nature of the relationship
Being like a friend, is not the same as being a friend. Sometimes stretching boundaries of the helping relationship can be important. However, this places a big responsibility on kaimahi to manage this safely.
When relationships are successful, rangatahi will often describe their kaimahi as “being like a friend” (de Boer & Coady, 2007). This has been linked to better outcomes. Being like a friend, is not the same as being a friend. But the difference can be hard to see. Sometimes stretching boundaries of the helping relationship can be important. However, this places a big responsibility on kaimahi to manage this safely.
Critical reflection is a key way of making sure we are being like a friend, while ensuring that we are not slipping into an actual friendship. It is important that rangatahi know our relationship is not a friendship, that it doesn’t take over their own relationships, and that kaimahi do not exploit rangatahi by using the relationship to meet their own needs.
To ensure this, we need to think about the rangatahi perspective and the way they may interpret the things we say and do. We need to think about the impact our power is having (Turney, 2018, 134) (see Power). This includes working out strategies to reduce our power, such as by taking a careful friend-like approach (McMahon, 2018; Turney, 2018).
The friend-like quality of the relationship raises organisational issues as well (see Relationship based practice in organisations). This includes things like policies about how contact is maintained with rangatahi after work hours, and after mahi is complete. This helps set a safe framework around non-appointment contact. Considering setting up a private facebook page or similar online way of keeping touch while also maintaining some privacy is an example of this. Policies for spending money to buy and share kai also help kaimahi manage the friend-boundaries. They make clear when and how to go about doing this. Policies or guidelines around taking rangatahi in staff or organisation vehicles also help.
Practices that build a team environment are also useful for creating transparency in practice and for ensuring that rangatahi always have someone available to support them when urgent and serious issues arise. When workplaces explore issues around what constitutes effective practice and create guidelines, they make work safer for kaimahi. Recognising that it will be necessary to do these sorts of things as part of building an effective helping relationship, is a way organisations can demonstrate their support of RBP.
Getting feedback from rangatahi
A positive relationship with rangatahi is the best predictor of positive outcomes (Duncan, Miller & Sparks, 2007)
A positive relationship with rangatahi is the best predictor of positive outcomes (Duncan, Miller & Sparks, 2007). Meaningful feedback from rangatahi is the most important information we can get. It is valuable for critical reflection because it gives us real-time information about how rangatahi experience our mahi. We can use it to help with our ongoing development, to adapt our mahi to fit better with their needs, and we can also use it in our organisations to help build a culture of listening and responding to rangatahi (see Hearing rangatahi). Rangatahi may not have ever been asked to provide feedback. They may feel uncomfortable, and we can also feel uncomfortable asking for it and changing what we do as a result. But we can work on building careful feedback processes that are comfortable for us all, so we get the information we need to improve our practice (Duncan, Miller & Sparks, 2007). This will help us build a culture of listening so we can understand what works well and what needs more attention.
Reflexivity - being inside and outside the relationship
In critical reflection we check we are keeping rangatahi at the centre of our mahi and that we have kept focus on the purpose of our relationship (see Rangatahi are the centre). This includes thinking about the times when rangatahi respond positively and those times when they respond negatively. We want to understand why they respond like this, how they are experiencing us and the mahi, and how all of this impacts on change.
Critical reflection helps us be inside the relationship and outside, observing it, at the same time. When we can do this, we are more able to respond to rangatahi in ways that help with change. For example, we can see when and how to make suggestions that the rangatahi may not yet have thought of. Through critical reflection we learn to be positively self-critical and open to constructive critique from others. When we are comfortable with this, we can often respond more creatively in the moment and see new ways of thinking about the challenges rangatahi confront. We can get distance on the relationship when we reflect with others on what we are doing, what we are seeing and feeling. By looking at the mahi from the outside we can see different options for interacting with rangatahi and we may also see things in new ways that open up different possibilities.
Learning to stand inside and outside the relationship at the same time also helps us manage our own reactions. We cannot avoid taking our own feelings (positive and negative) into new relationships. Critical reflection helps us learn how to hold back our own reactions and make sure we respond to rangatahi and their situations, not our own. We learn to ask different questions and explore different perspectives. Reflection processes help us learn how our own experiences (particularly of trauma) have shaped who we are and provides a place for us to explore this, so we can keep our own personal experiences on hold while we are with the rangatahi (McMahon,2018).
Most often, we do critical reflection away from rangatahi. However, we can also identify chances to do this while we are working with them (Kohli & Dutton, 2018). We can take a moment to think about the patterns of talking, silence and listening we use, and tune into rangatahi meanings and experiences by pausing and asking them what they feel is happening in our encounters. We can use active listening and reflecting to this (see Hearing rangatahi).
The mahi we do is complicated. It can be easy to become distracted by the other people and the many issues that surround rangatahi. We can also get distracted by the impact our mahi has on ourselves.
Critical reflection - working with emotions
We can have negative reactions to the people we work with and their situations. We can become tired in our mahi and this makes us vulnerable to strong emotions that can get in the way of doing our mahi. Sometimes it can seem that all we deal with is dramas that never end, and progress does not seem to happen. We need to be able to safely contain these feelings, so they do not get in the way. Critical reflection is the place to do this (Smith, 2018, 107). In reflecting, we look beneath the surface to understand how these emotions impact upon our work and to build strategies to manage them:
"...such as the ways in which unspoken anxieties about powerful feelings, including fear or despair, may cloud the judgement of the worker or impede the progress. In critical reflection, workers need to focus on both the actual interactions as they recall them and also on the process and dynamics involved" (Ruch, 2018, 25).
The self-awareness gained through critical reflection make us better able to protect ourselves while still effectively working with rangatahi needs and issues. This is another way of using curiosity and not knowing; feeling comfortable about being in a place of uncertainty can help us be open to creative solution finding. What is important here is that we have regular opportunities to reflect on this with other kaimahi and with our supervisor/coach. We can also experience fear or feel threatened during our mahi. This can be a positive response:
"... when we are somewhat afraid, we are not comfortable or complacent and we do not believe that we know. We are watchful, keenly alive to new possibilities and do not fall back on a misguided belief that things will be as they have been" (Smith, 2018, 105).
Just as we experience emotions in the mahi, so too do rangatahi. It is risky for them to show these emotions. A key task for us is to show them they can trust us to express emotions and honestly tell us their story. They will have emotional reactions to us being in their lives, and these are not always positive. They can feel anxiety, anger, and fear, and we will see this in the way they react to us (Ruch, 2018). Critical reflection is the place to explore what may be causing these reactions and plan how we make it safe for them to explore their responses. By reflecting we can see that what we thought were irrational responses might have been reasonable given the past experiences of this rangatahi, their ‘back story’ (Ruch, 2018, 38). In critical reflection we can sort out how we respond so that we create positive opportunities for rangatahi to learn more about themselves and to find positive coping strategies (see Understanding and working with resistance; Recognition and shame; Working with challenging emotions).
Use of self
Use of self is the way we combine our practice values, skills, and knowledge with the person we are (including our cultural heritage, personalities, life experiences). Use of self is about how we relate to and present ourselves to rangatahi and their whānau. Critical reflection helps us surface all aspects of ourselves and use them well in our mahi.
Our self is the main tool we use in our mahi. It adapts over time. It has internal and external parts; we have our sense of ourselves, but others have also a sense of who we might be. Critical reflection is the place for us to explore these different aspects of our selves so that we learn how to use them effectively, where boundaries are, and how to monitor them to ensure we keep a professional stance (see for example, Ruch, 2018b, 65).
We need to monitor our reactions as the relationship unfolds to learn how these impacts upon our emotions and thinking. It is not the type of experiences that we have, but whether we can understand our responses to experiences and use them to grow our practice that is important in making our mahi more effective.
We cannot always explore our responses at the time they occur. In critical reflection we can think back on both our conscious and unconscious responses when with rangatahi. The unconscious self is where our 'blind eyes' are (Ruch, 2018, 67). We recognise our blind eyes when our responses surprised or unsettled us. Critical reflection is the place to explore these unconscious responses.
This 'interpersonal in-between' is the safe space where rangatahi can bring their whole selves knowing their kaimahi will adapt and respond by opening up opportunities for growth. It is fluid and created by kaimahi and rangatahi together.
Our mahi has real impacts on us (Ward, 2018). We need time to make sense of what we see and its impact on us to keep on being effective. Reflecting on use of self is a critical part of this process. It takes time, thinking space and well-disciplined reflection. It is demanding work.
Critical reflection is most effective when our organisations provide safe and honest forums for this. These reflective processes create opportunities to:
- think and reflect upon what has occurred in each encounter with rangatahi,
- be honest about the impact this is having on our ability to do our mahi,
- examine how we have used our selves,
- examine from multiple perspectives how the rangatahi may experience this,
- explore different ways to respond in future encounters.
Strategies to assist with critical reflection
There are numerous tools and models that can be used in reflective practice. For example, the Johari window (Ward, 2018, 67), the spiral process (Ruch 2002), Kolb’s learning cycle (Kolb, 1984), and Casement’s internal supervisor (Casement, 1991). Webber-Dreadon’s (2020) model provides a te ao Māori lens on these processes and includes a reflective question framework and a set of principles to guide reflective processes (see Māori centred approaches). There are also supervision resources in the relational resources for change kete (see Supervision resources). These tools help us to sharpen our understanding of how we use our various selves and why we do this when supporting rangatahi. The purpose of these processes is to assist us to develop a strong, central core-self so we can monitor our interactions and decisions in an intentional way. Whatever tools we use, we need to establish a framework for recording our observations and thoughts so that we are able to fully engage in critical reflection processes. As part of this, organisations have a key role in ensuring that kaimahi are given time to record their practice and to participate in critical reflection processes (see Relationship based practice in organisations).
Factors that can impact on critical reflection processes
Diagnostic counter-transference and mirroring
Transference happens when we unconsciously transfer feelings from the past, or from other relationships into current interactions. We all have templates where we transfer feelings from previous experiences into current relationships. These are unconscious and we are often not aware of them.
The idea of diagnostic counter-transference is a useful way to think about our own reactions to rangatahi. For example, we may look back on our response to something a rangatahi said or did and realise that our response was inappropriate. It seemed to be triggered by a similar experience in our past, rather than a true reaction to what the rangatahi said or did. We use critical reflection to think about a more appropriate way of responding in the future when these past experiences get in the way of our responses.
Mirroring is when we react to a setting because it has similarities to a past experience we have had. Like transference we are not always aware that our reactions come from these previous experiences, so learning to recognise and understand them is important to growing our practice (see Systems thinking).
Understanding defensiveness
It is easy to understand that rangatahi may feel defensive when we are working with them. We often ask a lot of them, and they can feel that we are judging them when they make mistakes. We can misunderstand their responses – seeing resistance or rebellion rather than defensiveness and a need to self-protect (see Understanding and working with resistance).
Critical reflection is the place to think carefully about what rangatahi responses are telling us. We want to understand fully their perspectives, the meanings behind their responses, and the impacts that past experiences have on how they are with us (Ruch, 2018b, 49). We can draw on psycho-dynamic, systems, strengths, structural, critical and positive youth development perspectives to help us understand how their experiences shape the way they are (see Some ideas from psychology that help us understand RBP; Systems thinking; Strengths perspectives; Structural thinking, Critical theory, Positive youth development).
This helps us to learn how to adapt our relationship to their particular needs in constructive and empowering ways (Kohli & Dutton, 2018; Ruch, 2018). When we do this, we might, for example, realise that we can be the best support by advocating for rangatahi to have their full entitlements from WINZ, or for housing or food, alongside giving them space to talk about their issues. Providing practical support alongside emotional support provides a strong foundation for effective helping alliances (see The helping alliance).
Organisational issues
RBP is most effective when it is part of an organisation’s culture. Organisational support for relationship-based practice creates a safe practice environment (see Relationship based practice in organisations). Critical reflection is the most important way that organisations can support RBP. This provides safe internal processes where kaimahi can reflect on what is happening in the support relationship and gain insights and deepen their practice. Open and supportive organisations help practitioners to be honest and open up their practice to external scrutiny.
There are many assessment and tracking tools and models designed to regulate and allow the management of interventions. However, there is less about the relationship itself, the impact of the relationship on practice or on how to gather rangatahi experiences of interventions (Kohli & Dutton, 2018). Organisations may need to develop their own tools and processes for tracking these aspects of the intervention. Developing sustained opportunities for critical reflection enables kaimahi to be open to learning how to better support good practice with rangatahi. It is important to document these encounters so that learning and growth becomes a natural part of the culture of the organisation.
How do I use these ideas in my mahi?
I talked to my supervisor about how I can balance and pace my work ensuring I am available for all the rangatahi I work with (youth justice worker). One of the things I have to be careful about is sometimes I get overcommitted to a rangatahi and put so much energy in I can become exhausted. My supervisor helped me work through self-care strategies, so I was not over-stretched, and she also helped me understand that my focus always needs to be directed at achieving rangatahi goals and to be intentional in my practice; that is, have a purpose. Sometimes we can get carried away with the relationship and feel so pleased that the rangatahi has engaged with us and is starting to trust us that we lose focus on the purpose of the relationship with the rangatahi. My supervisor helped me understand that excitement about having a rangatahi turn up to our meetings and hang in with us is important, but the relationship is about helping the rangatahi achieve their goals. It is also about involving other people who are also committed to meeting rangatahi needs and helping them achieve their goals. We also talked about how my organisation and my immediate line manager can support me to manage my time and my workload to ensure that all the rangatahi I work with are well supported. Working on these strategies was a regular focus in my supervision meetings; these meetings were timetabled and I scheduled time to prepare for these meetings so I could get the most out of them.
Here are some places to look for more information
- Anderson, T. (1987). Reflecting teams: Dialogue and meta-dialogue in clinical work. Family Process 26, 4, 415–428. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.1987.00415.x
- Casement, P. (1991) On Learning from the Patient. Routledge, London.
- de Boer, C. & Coady, N. (2007). Good helping relationships in child welfare: Learning from stories of success. Child and Family Social Work, 12, 32-42. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2006.00438.x
- Duncan, B., Miller, S. & Sparks, J. (2007). Common factors and the uncommon heroism of youth. Psychotherapy in Australia, 13, 34-43. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.545300571675378
- Garfat, T. (2008). The inter-personal in-between: An exploration of relational child and youth care practice. In G. Bellefeuille & F. Ricks (Eds.) Standing on the precipice. MacEwan, Edmonton.
- Garfat, T. & Fulcher,L. (2008). Characteristics of a relational child and youth care approach. CYC Online https://cyc-net.org/pdf/Characteristics%20of%20a%20Relational%20CYC%20Approach%20Revisited.pdf
- Ingram, R. & Smith, M. (2018). Relationship-based practice: Emergent themes in social work literature. Insights – A series of evidence summaries. Insight 41. IRISS, Scotland, https://www.iriss.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-02/insights-41.pdf
- Kohli, R. & Dutton, J. (2018). Brief encounters. In G. Ruch, D. Turney & A. Ward (Eds). Relationship-based social work: Getting to the heart of practice (2nd Ed). (pp 77-93). Jessica Kingsley, London.
- Kolb, D. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Vol. 1). Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
- McMahon, L. (2018). Long-term complex relationships. In G. Ruch, D. Turney & A. Ward (Eds). Relationship-based social work: Getting to the heart of practice (2nd Ed). (pp 147-164). Jessica Kingsley, London.
- Munford, R. & Sanders, J. (2020). Transformative practice: social work practice with vulnerable young people. European Journal of Social Work, https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2020.1819205
- Phelan, J. (2019). Boundary dynamics for relational CYC practitioners. CYC online, 247, 18-22.
- Ruch, G. (2018). The contemporary context of relationship-based practice. In G. Ruch, D. Turney & A. Ward (Eds). Relationship-based social work: Getting to the heart of practice (2nd Ed). (pp 19-35). Jessica Kingsley, London.
- Sanders, J., & Munford, R. (2019). PARTH practices and better outcomes: Creating 'lucky' encounters between social workers and vulnerable youth. In R. Munford, & K. O'Donoghue (Eds.), New theories for social work practice: Ethical practice for working with individuals, families and communities (pp. 27-43). Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London.
- Sanders, J., & Munford, R. (2010). Working with families: Strengths-based approaches. Dunmore, New Zealand.
- Smith, M. (2018). Sustaining relationships: Working with strong feelings. In G. Ruch, D. Turney & A. Ward (Eds). Relationship-based social work: Getting to the heart of practice (2nd Ed). (pp 95-112). Jessica Kingsley, London.
- Turney, D. (2012). A relationship-based approach to engaging involuntary clients: The contribution of recognition theory. Child and Family Social Work, 17, 149-159. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2012.00830.x
- Turney. D. (2018). Sustaining relationships: Working with strong feelings. In G. Ruch, D. Turney & A. Ward (Eds). Relationship-based social work: Getting to the heart of practice (2nd Ed). (pp 129-145). Jessica Kingsley, London.
- Ward, M. (2018). The use of self in relationship-based practice. In G. Ruch, D. Turney & A. Ward (Eds). Relationship-based social work: Getting to the heart of practice (2nd Ed). (pp 55-74), Jessica Kingsley, London.
- Webber-Dreadon, E. (2020). Kaitiakitanga: A transformation of supervision. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 32, 3, 68-79. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol32iss3id770
We thank the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for funding the research that created this resource (MAUX2006).
This resource was developed by Professor Jackie Sanders. It was refined with input from Donna MacNicol, Te Aroha Noa Community Services, Justina Webster, Dr Linda Liebenberg, Professor Robyn Munford, Dr Jayne Mercier, Davinia Abbott and the team at Dingwall Trust Launch Programme
Citation: Sanders, J. with MacNicol, D., Webster, J., Munford, R. Liebenberg, L., Mercier, J., Abbott, D. and the Dingwall Trust Launch Team (2023). Critical reflection and use of self. Relational Resources for Change, https://youthsay.co.nz/rbp-theories/critical-reflection-and-use-of-self/
CC BY-NC-ND Licensed using Creative Commons Licensing. Relational Resources for Change Project. You are welcome to use this resource individually, in your teams and in supervision/coaching/critical reflection, you should acknowledge the source using the above citation. You may not change this document, use it to develop your own external training, or for commercial purposes (e.g by charging a fee).
