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Sharna’s reflective practice

Sharna describes her own reflective practice
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I think the main thing is that you’d assume that I’d have really strong, clear emotional responses to things. But actually it’s just confused responses, not really knowing how I feel about things, and not really knowing why I’m reacting in a certain way. It’s just really important that you take time to kind of reflect on these feelings and then with that, you work it out. And I think sometimes in my profession and in similar professions, people think that being detached, and it’s professional, that not letting things get to you is professional. But then being detached and being known can have really bad negative implications on the quality of work and the relationships that you can create with people.
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So just that it’s OK to be confused and it’s OK to feel a certain way, and you should let out and not feel ashamed because you would act into something deeply and emotionally. Because at the end of the day, for example, I’m a social worker, but I’m a human being too. And I see things at work, and I will take that home with me, whether I want to or not. So just do what feels right for you. Take some time to feel the way that you want to feel and reflect on it, and try and bring back any kind of knowledge or experience that you’ve gained from that back with you too.

In this video Sharna contrasts allowing time to sit with confused responses to the work with a more detached outlook that can be the norm in medical and care settings.

What do you think about this reflection from Sharna? Do these types of spaces already exist at work for you, or do you make time yourself? What can get in the way?

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