1. THE ROLE OF CRITICALLY REFLECTIVE PRACTICE IN WORKING WITH CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
Siobhan Maclean
Writer and independent social worker
Critically reflective practice is often misunderstood in social work.
Aim of presentation is to clarify some of the key concepts of reflective practice – and demonstrate the reasons that critically reflective practice is essential in working with csa
Try to use a what? Why? How? framework in personal reflection and in writing – trying to use that as a basis for today’s presentation.

2. Reflective practice / critical reflection : what is it?
Process of review to inform learning (eg: Schon, Reid etc)
Active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge (Dewey 1933)
Mental process of trying to restructure existing knowledge and insights (Korthagen 2001)
Often understood in social work as a learning method – perhaps because of the emphasis on reflection in the assessment of social work practice in qualifying and post qualifying training – but we need to look beyond reflective practice as something we do for a course. It is a key method of social work practice and in many ways is what sets us apart as a profession

3. Critically reflective practice: key components
Rethinking / deconstructing power
Awareness of values and implications
for practice
Exploring emotions / emotional intelligence
Drawing on knowledge / developing knowledge and practice wisdom
Self awareness
Creating uncertainty through dynamic questioning – willingness to live with
that uncertainty
Review of the main contemporary models of reflective practice highlight these as key components underpinning all of the models

4. Child Sexual Abuse: key issues
Power and powerlessness
Changing societal values
Emotional impact / distress
Developing / emerging knowledge
Impact of personal experiences / values (self awareness)
More questions than answers (uncertainty)
Some of the key issues which we have heard about so far today
Aspects of silencing – and links to power
Aspects of changing societal vales around sexuality – children and young people being desensitised. How do they recognise what is abusive

5. Social work is all about making connections – as is reflective practice

6. POWER
VALUES
EMOTIONS
KNOWLEDGE
SELF AWARENESS
UNCERTAINTY

7. Reflective Practice: Power
Fook – critically reflective practice
Deconstruction of ‘realities’ with a focus on power dynamics
Is sexual abuse about sex or about power?
What are the power dynamics in each situation – individual, organisational, cultural, societal?
Who is making decisions?
Fook as perhaps the most influential writer about reflective practice in social work. Her idea about reflection which ignores power is not critical reflection is what sets social work reflection apart from other professions.
Tend to focus on power on an individual level – but we need to truly “deconstruct” in depth – what are the power issues in relation to gender, age, class, race? What are the issues of societal power? Why was the knowledge base about sexual abuse buried for so long? Whose interests are served by our practice? Who is making and driving decisions?

8. Reflective Practice: Self Awareness
Personal process relies on personal awareness
How did you find out about sex? How do you feel about sex? How do you use your “self” in your work?
We need to reflect on our own experiences – our own childhood, our values…. How do these impact on our practice? What are your personal definitions of sexuality?

9. Distress and emotions
Reflection and self awareness are key aspects of emotional intelligence – “keeping distress from swamping the ability to think, to empathise and to hope” (Goleman 1996)
How does a practitioner manage emotional distress and avoid the potential for helplessness?
Is supervision sufficiently emotionally supportive?
Social workers need to be emotionally intelligent – but to what extent is this addressed in social work training? How are issues of emotional intelligence addressed in supervision?

10. Drawing on Knowledge
Knowledge is fixed and creates limitations to the way that we see things……
Knowledge is time, context and societally and culturally specific..
When was child sexual abuse first raised as an issue?
Contemporary social work practice is driven by evidence based ideals – links with the managerialist era we are in. We need to draw on knowledge to influence our reflection. However, our reflections also need to influence the development of the knowledge base – is this truly a two way relationship. How do we know what we know – we don’t know what we don’t know. It limits us. It limits our reflection and limits our practice.

11. Freud’s Seminar ‘The Ateology of Hysteria’ (1896)
“Almost all of my women patients told me that they had been seduced by their father. I was driven to recognize in the end that these reports were untrue and so came to understand that the hysterical symptoms are derived from phantasies and not from real occurrences……
It was only later that I was able to recognize in this phantasy of being seduced by the father the expression of the typical Oedipus complex in women.”
(Sigmund Freud 1933)
Not the last century – but the century before. However, the knowledge was so difficult, so painful, so problematic for society – that it was buried. An important lesson in terms of the limitations of reflection.
So what is impacting on your reflection?

12. Reflective processes can potentially unearth any assumptions about anything…. Some crucial but hitherto deeply hidden assumptions may be uncovered.
(Fook 2004: 59)
Do reflective processes bury as much as they unearth ?

13. The earth was flat……….

14. Child sexual abuse didn’t happen….
Sula Wolff (1973)
Seminal text
No mention of child sexual abuse

15. 10 years on….. Judith Herman
“This distributing fact…. Has been repeatedly unearthed in the past hundred years, and just as repeatedly buried….. The information was simply too threatening to be maintained in public consciousness.”
(1982:7)
This very simple quotation from the introduction to Judith Herman’s key text answers many of the questions we have already raised – yes reflective processes can bury as well as unearth…
We have the power to raise issues but others may have the power to hide or to over ride……

16. Where they do they have been coerced or controlled by men….
Women don’t abuse…
Where they do they have been coerced or controlled by men….
Critically reflective practice recognises that there is no truth and that we need to be open to all possibilities….. An ability to “imagine” or think beyond knowledge
We talk about the realities of childhood sexual abuse – but how do we “know” what they are?
Contemporary knowledge recognises that csa occurs – but there are still very many things we do not know. Very many things that society is just not ready to accept….

17. Sometimes imagery is particularly helpful in reflection
Sometimes imagery is particularly helpful in reflection. What do you see? A painting by an adult survivor of csa – depicting the feeling of being trapped and boxed in – and imaging a way out of that. We need to recognise that knowledge – whilst useful -does box us in - reflective practice which is critical and has no boundaries helps us to imagine – to see beyond and to find a way out of the box

18. Difficulties / barriers
Time constraints
Striving for certainty
Evidence based practice
Reflective practice can be painful and create a crisis of confidence
Organisational constraints
Lack of reflective supervision
Lack of clarity about reflective practice
There are many barriers to reflective practice – both barriers within the individual and barriers at an organisational level

19. Dangers in Reflection
Reflecting into a void and seeing only what we want, can take or believe....
Recognising a major barrier to reflection – is reflecting into a void…. Ultimately will we bury some of our reflections

20. Reflexive spaghetti Burnham (1993)
Reflecting on reflections about reflections….
Ties us up and prevents action
Being “too reflective” can also be a problem

21. Characteristics of a reflective practitioner (Brookfield 1998)
Assumption analysis : challenging our own beliefs and values
Contextual awareness : recognition of social construction of beliefs and practice
Imaginative speculation: ability to imagine a different way
Reflective Scepticism: Challenging or suspending existing knowledge and beliefs
Whilst writing about adult learning the four characteristics identified by Brookfield are perhaps the most important in terms of reflection in working with CSA

22. So what can be done? (Individual level)
Find a model of reflective practice which you are comfortable with – this will vary for each practitioner
Seek out “critical friends”
Develop awareness of what is impacting on reflections
Don’t avoid the questions – but likewise don’t delay actions
Key models Fook
Gibbs and Johns very popular
Korthagen particularly useful

23. So what can be done? (Organisational / societal level)
Critically reflective organisations (Munro)
Challenging power
Educate children and young people to critically reflect

24. Reflection – look for the strength within
Reflection – look for the strength within. Can feel very lonely and isolated….

25. Kirwin Maclean Associates enquiries@kirwinmaclean.com
Siobhan Maclean
Kirwin Maclean Associates