TY - JOUR
T1 - “You go in heavy and you come out light”
T2 - An interpretative phenomenological analysis of reflective practice experiences in an Irish infant mental health setting
AU - Tobin, Mary
AU - O'Sullivan, Nicola
AU - Rogers, Elaine
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Infant Mental Health Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.
PY - 2024/7
Y1 - 2024/7
N2 - Reflective practice (RP) is a core component of infant mental health (IMH); however, there is limited published empirical research on IMH practitioner experiences of RP. This two-stage, qualitative, multimodal study explored Irish IMH practitioners’ experiences of RP spaces. Visual and verbal data from seven individual interviews and a participatory arts-based focus group with seven participants (eight participants in total, all white Irish females) were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Five group experiential themes (Just get on with it; What should I be bringing to this space?; Who are my “hands”?; Taking a step back; and You go in heavy and you come out light) were generated by the analysis. These were used to construct a developmental and experiential model of learning in an RP space. The themes portray how a practitioner's RP experience can change over time: influenced by prior experiences and practice development stage, practitioners move from initial uncertainty, anxiety, and perceived pressure in a busy workload to developing the trust and ability to be vulnerable in an RP space. Through relationships (supervisor/facilitator or group members), a shared safe space can be created, which addresses practitioners’ needs for containment, allowing for experiential learning through a process of transformational moments.
AB - Reflective practice (RP) is a core component of infant mental health (IMH); however, there is limited published empirical research on IMH practitioner experiences of RP. This two-stage, qualitative, multimodal study explored Irish IMH practitioners’ experiences of RP spaces. Visual and verbal data from seven individual interviews and a participatory arts-based focus group with seven participants (eight participants in total, all white Irish females) were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Five group experiential themes (Just get on with it; What should I be bringing to this space?; Who are my “hands”?; Taking a step back; and You go in heavy and you come out light) were generated by the analysis. These were used to construct a developmental and experiential model of learning in an RP space. The themes portray how a practitioner's RP experience can change over time: influenced by prior experiences and practice development stage, practitioners move from initial uncertainty, anxiety, and perceived pressure in a busy workload to developing the trust and ability to be vulnerable in an RP space. Through relationships (supervisor/facilitator or group members), a shared safe space can be created, which addresses practitioners’ needs for containment, allowing for experiential learning through a process of transformational moments.
KW - infant mental health
KW - interpretative phenomenological analysis
KW - qualitative research
KW - reflective practice
KW - reflective supervision/consultation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85193829937&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/imhj.22119
DO - 10.1002/imhj.22119
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85193829937
SN - 0163-9641
VL - 45
SP - 411
EP - 437
JO - Infant Mental Health Journal
JF - Infant Mental Health Journal
IS - 4
ER -