“You go in heavy and you come out light”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of reflective practice experiences in an Irish infant mental health setting

Abstract

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.