ALONE AND TOGETHER: SOME THOUGHTS ON REFLECTIVE LEARNING FOR WORK WITH ADULT SURVIVORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

Abstract

This paper explores issues around reflective practice and refers to an undergraduate module ‘Understanding and Responding to Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse’, designed for professionally qualified students undertaking various ‘top‐up degrees’ (e.g. nurses, social workers, midwives, health visitors and other health‐care workers). The module incorporated a reflective writing component at the end of each weekly session. In this context we suggest that reflection is an active mulling over of experiences so that difficult thoughts and feelings can be explored and learnt from. Reviewing these writings revealed key personal and emotional experiences, and a number of themes were clearly identified. Although many of the emotions and experiences were recurring, some seemed to be developing over the 10 weeks of the module. We concluded that the group's disparate emotions of denial, fear, disgust and confusion were turned into learning, acceptance and understanding and suggest that these were achieved partly because of the reflective process. This was a crucial factor in the students' learning for themselves and about each other, as well as improving professional practice.