Self-Reflection From Group Dialogue: The Lived Experience of Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurses

Abstract

Self-reflection is an essential element of reflective practice for group facilitators. However, this element typically exists largely at the personal level and is not addressed in group dialogues of nurses. The purpose of this study was to explore the self-reflection of psychiatric nurses in a supervision group. A phenomenological approach was used to investigate the dialogues across 12 sessions in terms of discussion content and the reflective journals of the psychiatric nurse participants. The findings showed that two forms of self-reflection included: Embodied self-reflection derived from the physical sensibility and discursive self-reflection derived from the group dialogues. The embodied and discursive self-reflections promote self-awareness in nurses. The embodiment and initiation in the group facilitates the process of self-becoming through the group dialogue, which promotes self-examination and self-direction in healthcare professionals.