Abstrakt
"Reflection" has been well established as a central tool of inter-personal practice in health and social care professions. Adopted from psychotherapeutic contexts, it has been traditionally promoted in professional social work training to enhance accountable practice through critical self-awareness.
However, it has recently been given less priority with the advance of New Public Management regimes and emphasis on efficiency through evidence-based practice in social services, a development pioneered in medicine. By comparison, reflection is gaining importance in professional nursing education [Curtin et al., 2015; Strandås, Wackerhausen & Bondas, 2019], where effectiveness is also a priority.
This paper reports on the results of comparative research conducted in the Czech Republic among professional social workers and nurses, applying the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale [SRIS; Grant et al., 2002] and Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale [PHLMS; Cardaciotto et al., 2008] validated for the Czech language [Havrdová et al., 2019]. It discusses the significance of differences found between both professional groups against the background of their different entry and training traditions in a country where post-socialist social policy developments are increasingly determined by neoliberal principles [Lorenz, 2020].
The socialisation of members of both professions in the post-1989 era is influenced by diverse factors, including management styles and organisational culture. This has implications for selecting candidates for both professions and the didactics on study programmes and a wider understanding of how reflective practices can critically involve practitioners in ongoing global social and policy developments.
The paper concludes by stressing a comprehensive understanding of reflection and "mindfulness" for social, care and health professionals concerning the concept's psychological and political implications in the face of current social policy trends.