The Reflective Journal

by Barbara Bassot

Are you being encouraged to reflect more deeply and critically on what you do?

If your answer is yes, this uniquely inspiring book is for you.

The Reflective Journal is a thoughtful and encouraging introduction to critically reflective practice.

With space to write your reflections, it will give you a place to capture your learning and a structure to record your development. As a powerful tool for processing your thoughts, feelings and actions, it will lead you to a deeper understanding of yourself and your work so that you can develop your practice and achieve your professional goals.

Written for students on a range of courses from education and social work to business, counselling and health, it will also be invaluable for those on placement or in professional practice.

Genres: Nonfiction, Journaling, Counselling, Social Work, Research, Psychology

180 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2013

Reviews

[Nilguen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Reflective Journal is a great help to hone one´s reflective writing in preparation to an auto-ethnographic project, thesis or dissertation. In particular, I found the Driscoll´s ´What?´ model helpful when reflecting-in-action. Reflection-in-action is described as ´thinking on your feet´. The model, I believe, is simple and easy to remember with its three trigger questions. To reflect at a deeper level there is the Gibb´s Reflection Cycle, which helps deepen one´s learning from an experience. The Gibb´s Reflection Cycle emphasizes feelings and takes the reflective practice to a deeper level, rather to a critically reflective practice. Bassot cites that critical reflection happens when we identify and scrutinise the assumptions that undergrid how we work. Overall, a great guidance for reflective writing elaborationg useful tools and methodologies.

[Kotryna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would probably never have bought this book without a recommendation, but now I am very thankful to a person who was promoting this book non-stop.

The Reflective Journal offers a range of tools for self-reflection, mostly in a professional setting. What does it mean to be a professional? How to manage emotions at work? How to reflect on those emotions and make the right conclusions? How to manage stress? How to reflect on your own actions and reactions? How to supervise? How to survive in a team? How to give and accept feedback? And most importantly - how to move forward.

The tone of the book doesn't remind a cult, as some of the other books on leadership and self-management; it is rather an introduction to a conversation with yourself where there are no truths, just your own interpretations.

Some of the content might seem as self-reflection for dummies, but only because it is structured in a way of introducing the idea to those who never wrote a self-reflecting journal, even if they reflect a lot in their own heads. I would still recommend reading the whole book without skipping "the obvious" in order to understand the steps of the professional self-reflection and fill in the gaps that you might be doing.

I wish someone would have shown me this book in my early twenties - would have saved me a lot of time and trouble. But I guess it's never too late.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful! I feel much more confident doing my university required reflective writing now. I think it will help my personal life too :)

[Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a regular journal. The author tells about all kinds of different reflection models and theory's. I highly recommend this book if your are into journalling or when you help other clients with reflection. Either way, I love this book and use it on a regular base to learn something new about reflection.

[Marina Shinkorenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very basic, lots of space in the book (literally, assume for the note?), just 2-3 things that I managed to get from it:
- reflection on stress types (emotional, cognitive, behavioural)
- reflection on the past/ the future
- reflection loops and models that all come to one pattern