Abstract
Reviewed by: Mick McCormick, Open University, England
Part of the Practice Theory in Context series, Fiona Gardner’s book on critical reflection and holistic practice attempts to address a multidisciplinary audience, many of whom are, or could be, engaged in critically reflective practices. Whilst critical reflection is familiar to many students and practitioners, many will struggle to make space for critical reflection in their day–day practice. This book examines ‘how practitioners can creatively generate their own structures or processes to support being critically reflective’ (p. 2), and it does so in a very accessible and practical manner.
Following her clear and thoughtful introduction, the book is divided into three parts. Combining extracts from academic literature and practice examples from a range of health and social care disciplines, each part builds upon and reinforces the message that holistic, reflective practice is not only ‘doable’, but is a critical tool for effective multi-agency working.
The first part is a clear and thorough introduction to critical reflection and outlines the different theoretical underpinnings and methods of critical reflection, exploring the use of visual images, writing techniques and group meetings. Building on this, the second part explores organizational contexts and challenges for reflective practice. It demonstrates how reflective capacity can be developed in different practice contexts and applied productively to supervision, teamwork and interprofessional working. The final part explores how practitioners might apply critical reflection in their work environments. Each chapter in this part of the book takes a thematic approach to organizational contexts and explores ways in which practitioners might use critical reflective practice to engage with these themes (ethics, change, inter professionalism).
Drawing on contemporary research and writings which help the reader to appreciate the central place of critical reflection for health and social work practitioners, each chapter also offers engaging practice examples and reflective questions. These encourage and enable the reader to develop their knowledge, integrate theory with practice and encourage further reading and research.
This book is an ideal guide to dealing with challenge and change across a range of social and healthcare services, including social work, nursing, youth and community work, counselling and allied healthcare professions. Its strength is its appeal across the range of health and social care professions.