‘Creating spaces — for ourselves and each other. The value of reflection and connection’

08.05.2020: As the lock-down continues for another week and the death toll from COVID-19 is tragically now the highest in Europe and still rising, I have been considering that this week has felt quite challenging for all of us in the UK. We are now far enough into the pandemic to be reflecting on what has happened so far; such as the disproportionate impact of the virus in poor or Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities due to their pre-existing health inequalities post austerity (c.f. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-labour-nhs-health-inequalities-jonathan-ashworth-a9500531.html) or the failures of health policies in this country compared to our neighbours (c.f. https://time.com/5823382/britain-coronavirus-response/). Moreover, being reflective on events so far will also be critical to consider what our response should be moving forward to rebuild our communities (e.g. http://www.psychchange.org/blog/imagining-another-world-why-psc-is-calling-for-a-justrecovery-to-the-covid-19-crisis) as well as ensuring the positive gains in reducing homelessness during this lock-down are permanent not temporary (c.f. https://twitter.com/centrepointuk/status/1257295754961588225). Reflection upon what has gone before, and what we now need to be doing for the future to avoid making further mistakes, that may ultimately cost more lives, is therefore critical. However, something that I have personally been challenged with this week as the Lead for Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE) within the national youth homeless charity Centrepoint, has been how do we create those spaces for reflection and thought in the current circumstances?

For those of us working remotely, trying to create some time or space in our day to ‘think’ or ‘reflect’ with the many different demands and roles that we are managing or inhabiting right now can be difficult. Moving my psychology practice online, has been challenging in lots of ways including learning new skills in remote facilitation and communication, managing different technology platforms and dealing with the feelings that do (or don’t arise) when you aren’t in the room with others. However, one of the biggest challenges has been about managing boundaries when creating remote reflective spaces as both my dog and my children have now featured in non-confidential video conference calls this week(!)

In addition, I was discussing in my own (remote) supervision this week, how much I had not truly appreciated my commute home from work before. This journey has previously often felt rushed as I was trying to get from a workplace back home in time to collect the children from school, or fitting in picking up some food shopping on route. However, whilst working from home at the moment there is no commute, and therefore the moment I log off from a reflective space or video conference, I am often switching into another role (e.g. parent, teacher, partner, daughter etc.) immediately with limited time to process what has gone before. Moreover, I am also aware that for those who are commuting currently to work in our Centrepoint ‘Frontline’ support services, the commute is no longer a space to think either, rather it is (if travelling on public transport) often perceived as a threatening situation and full of anxiety due to the risk of viral exposure to COVID-19.

This has therefore got me thinking again about the value of reflective practice within a psychologically informed environment (PIE) to create this place for staff to move from a position of ‘always doing’, which can be exhausting and overwhelming to a place where they can ‘stop and think’ for a moment, before they then return to the ‘do, do, do’. Keats et al (2012) in their PIE Good practice guide (c.f. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/340022/1/Good%2520practice%2520guide%2520-%2520%2520Psychologically%2520informed%2520services%2520for%2520homeless%2520people%2520.pdf) have argued that Reflective Practice is a critical part of being psychologically informed and is key to reduce the risk of just ‘blindly continuing forth’ because it gives us space to enable a ‘process of continuous learning from professional experiences, which encourages problem solving and critical thinking skills (p21)’. I would argue that these particular thinking skills are never more important than currently in this COVID-19 pandemic as we need to think creatively and adapt our way of life and delivery of our services to meet the current need and conditions in which we are operating.

Moreover as noted by Homeless Link (2014) in their sector guidance document on reflective practice (c.f. https://www.homeless.org.uk/sites/default/files/site-attachments/Reflective%20practice%20briefing%20March2017.pdf) and in their recent webinar (c.f. https://vimeo.com/411744360), there are many positive benefits to reflective practice particularly, but not limited to the current situation. Creating spaces to air and address difficult issues, thoughts, feelings and behaviours, can allow solutions to be developed, jointly owned and shared, as well as perspectives to be reframed or changed. Organisations and teams that utilise reflective practice spaces have therefore been shown to evidence fewer incidents and evictions as well as an increase in other positive outcomes (e.g. engagement rates), and a reduction in staff absence and burnout (e.g. MacGuire, 2006; Keats et al, 2012; Phipps et al, 2017). Moreover, having a reflective organisation also creates a more collaborate workplace culture and increased staff morale, again arguably all critically important outcomes, perhaps now more than ever.

Consequently, our Centrepoint PIE Team has continued to offer reflective spaces to our staff within the organisation via video technology, and over the past few weeks, the uptake of these sessions has increased across our ‘frontline’ services. Some have been new teams requesting sessions, others have been some existing teams moving their reflective practice sessions from real-life to a remote format as we continue to work within the UK Government’s current physical distancing guidelines. Although I am personally finding facilitating reflective spaces remotely more challenging than in person, as this is a new way of working for me as a psychologist that I, like many of my professional colleagues are adjusting to, the feedback from staff has been very positive. One of the comments our team received this week really summarised for me the power of creating these spaces for reflective practice, particularly when you are busy in ‘frontline’ services. Specifically one manager after their team’s reflective space stated; “I really wanted to thank you for today. I guess we all didn’t realise how much we needed it; the team feel somehow ‘lighter’”.

Working with homeless young people in the UK, who often present with quite complex vulnerabilities, can be challenging and emotionally exhausting at times, and having a reflective space to process this or reflect and learn from incidents to consider how they will respond positively in the future, is so important. This is not ‘navel gazing’ or wasting time; but a valuable learning environment that is part of continuous professional development and outcome improvement. Moreover, our current reflective spaces are also being used to process staff’s own feelings about coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, and normalising many of their natural reactions to the stress, anxiety and loss they are experiencing. Creating these reflective spaces has served to ‘enable those present to make their internal experiences (thoughts and emotions) explicit, thereby facilitating the possibility of reducing the intensity of difficult emotions and possibly altering behaviours’ (Keats et al, 2012; p21). As a psychologist, I know that it is therapeutically very powerful to create safe spaces for others to enter, in which they feel they can speak and they will be heard.

However, creating such spaces for ‘thinking’ and ‘connection’ should not just be limited to reflective practice sessions. It is important that we create such spaces for those that we work with, whether that is connecting with our colleagues or engaging with the homeless young people we are working with at every opportunity. This is not always easy, particularly when the young people’s previous experiences of trying to enter another’s space to form a relationship has resulted in them being rejected, hurt, abused or ignored. However, remembering to use our person centred counselling skills (Rogers, 1959) as well as being trauma informed by offering choice, hope, empowerment, control and safety to that young person, will help to create that space for them to enter. Specifically, some of the conditions we need to create with others for them to enter a space with us are summarised very well here in this blog, sent to me by one of the Senior Leaders in our Housing & Support Team this week: https://www.epinsight.com/post/i-need-you-to-stepping-into-the-shoes-of-a-child-who-has-experienced-trauma-loss-change. Although this blog focuses on how to connect with those who have experienced past trauma and loss, given the current traumatic circumstances and the universal nature of the power of relationships to heal and support, I think that it provides a good summary of some of the universal conditions we need to consider when creating a safe space for another. For example, it highlights the power of ‘noticing’, ‘acceptance’, ‘curiosity’, ‘safety’, ‘responsiveness’ ‘flexibility’, ‘humour’, ‘hope’, ‘positive reinforcement’, ‘predictability or boundaries’ and ‘persistence’, all of which are arguably the building blocks of relationship building and connection, and which have never been more important than right now.

In addition, I have been reflecting this week on how it is not only important to create those spaces for others, but also to continue to create spaces for reflection for ourselves in order to manage the current situation. This ‘marathon’ is continuing, and has shown no obvious signs of ending or at least returning to what we used to perceive as ‘normal’ anytime soon. It is therefore important to create our own reflective spaces whether we are staying at home or travelling to work on a ‘frontline’ right now. However, creating this time to think, connect, ‘play’ or relax is not always straightforward. For example, anyone trying to get some space in a busy family household or working in a supported accommodation service can attest to the struggle to find quiet and time alone, whilst those living alone may feel socially isolated and want to connect socially in ways that are less ‘remote’. Nevertheless whatever our ‘spaces’ need to look like to reenergise and refresh us, it will be important to try to continue to create this for our own well-being as best we can. I personally have been taking time out each day to walk my dog in order to have some space to think, whilst also calling my self-isolating elderly mother more regularly in order to give her space to ‘connect’ with her family support network.

Therefore, one particular personal ‘space’ that is critical now in whatever role(s) we are undertaking, is that of ‘taking a break’. You may or may not choose to consume a well-known brand of chocolate during the break period(!), but whatever you do in your break ‘space’, research shows that taking a break is more beneficial for you (and your work) than if you don’t (c.f. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/changepower/201704/how-do-work-breaks-help-your-brain-5-surprising-answers). The benefits of taking breaks, even brief ones, are evidenced in both our productivity and our mental and physical well-being (e.g. in reducing stress, maintaining performance levels, reducing recovery time from work and increasing energy levels). It is therefore so critical to take that short break, that short walk to the park, make that cup of tea or sit in the garden for a moment in order to create that ‘space’ for ourselves. Consequently, regardless of how we create reflective and rejuvenating ‘spaces’ for ourselves and others right now, the key is to remember to keep doing it every day! This won’t just be a beneficial new ‘habit’ to manage the current lock-down, but the psychological evidence suggests it will also be of positive benefit in the longer term whatever our future holds…