Experiences of delivering reflective practice sessions in educational settings

I am reflecting on my experiences in the educational setting. For the past academic year, I have been involved at a university as part of a Master's programme in psychotherapy facilitating a professional and personal development (PPD) module. Alongside this, I also facilitate a reflective practice group (RPG) module as part of the clinical psychology doctorate programme at another university. Both in their own ways, my experiences have been very enriching as well as mentally stimulating. 

Professional and personal development module

The PPD module was a challenge as I had not done anything like this before. The students were from varied professional backgrounds coming with their own challenges of the course as well as life in general. The group sizes were larger too, up to about 12 students in one group and I was facilitating two groups. All sessions were held in person. It was a weekly module held for an hour and prepping what the topic was always at the forefront of my mind.

I did experience a challenging situation where in one of the groups some of the students didn't want to do prepped material but also were struggling with what to bring to the session. The conflicting messages created a challenge for me to ensure everyone's needs were being met as best as possible. 

The varying clinical experiences also made it more difficult for some students to voice their concerns alongside certain group dynamics hindering some students from feeling as if they could take as much as they would like to from the module. Some of these situations didn't come to light until closer to the end of the module or students had expressed this in their assignments. 

I loved how some of the students embraced these sessions, and how much they took from them. I also liked seeing how their self-awareness was gradually increasing over the course of the sessions and how they were starting to become more rounded clinicians working towards qualifying as counsellors/therapists. This was the rewarding part of doing this module that I held onto especially at times when some students really challenged the way sessions were being held. A lot of these challenges were with the wider course but naturally were reflected on more so in these sessions, partly as their safe space to discuss along with their frustrations of how they wanted this module led. 

Reflective practice group 

I have facilitated the RPG sessions for a few years now. These sessions are less structured and more led by the trainees and what they bring to them. Some were held in person and other sessions were online. There are about 8-9 sessions per one academic year. Generally, I have found these groups to gel well as they are a lot smaller, approx. 6-8 trainees. They also have a lot of interaction with each other on their course and most seem very supportive of each other. 

At times managing group dynamics can include when one person spends a lot of time talking about their concerns and, as a facilitator, ensuring others' needs are addressed too and they feel they can share in the session as well. More importantly, it's nice for them all to feel they are taking something from these sessions, as again, it's a safe space for them to be able to openly share their current concerns with the course as well as placement. With these sessions I really like how the facilitator is encouraged to see one cohort through all three years of their training and complete the course. Therefore, observing how they gradually flourish and become ready to qualify as clinical psychologists is very rewarding too. 

Final thoughts

Overall, I have found facilitating these sessions in both universities do bring their own challenges, but they have also mentally stimulated my professional growth and been rewarding in expanding my current skill set too. For example, I have learnt so much more about how to facilitate such sessions, manage some challenges much better, which in turn has made me better equipped with facilitating such sessions, especially within the clinical environment that I predominantly work in at present. 

My experience has taught me that every cohort is different and, not only how well they gel together but also how well we as facilitators connect with them, will always be different too. I have also taken value in trying to tailor new ideas and or 'thinking outside the box' to support improving these sessions. I would recommend it as an experience worth experiencing!

Author biography

Dr Sindeep Lehl is a principal counselling psychologist, working within the NHS. She specialises in physical health, especially in cancer & palliative care as well as obesity, and is a member of the BPS, BABCP, SIGOPAC, and the EMDR academy. 

@Sindeep1