Why Reflective Practice Matters
Nourishing People, Purpose and Practice
Reflective practice helps us pause, make sense of our experiences and sustain the work we love. In this post, I share my journey towards more sustainable ways of working and what I’ve learned about the transformative power of reflection and community.
Reflection begins with the questions we ask ourselves: Photo Hannah Jones
Some years ago, before the pandemic, I attended the International Culture, Health and Wellbeing Conference in Bristol. As always, the best part for me was chatting with peers between sessions. I’ve always valued those moments of genuine connection that conferences make possible.
But that year, the mood was different. Several colleagues confided that they were planning to leave the sector. The work, they said, had become too much: too demanding, too emotionally draining. The joy and creativity that had once fuelled them had been replaced by exhaustion and disillusionment.
Their words stopped me in my tracks. When had this rich, creative, meaningful work become detrimental to the health of those delivering it? Then I realised: this wasn’t just about them. It was about me too. I was exhausted.
That moment was a turning point. It nudged me to reinvest in my own creativity. After years of thinking about it, I finally signed up for a master’s in creative writing. It also prompted a deeper question: how could I find a more sustainable, nourishing way of working while still making a difference?
Over the next few years, as I began to wind down my arts and health consultancy, Willis Newson, I felt drawn to share what I’d learned. I retrained as a coach and action learning set facilitator and began running reflective writing workshops — creating the kinds of supportive spaces I had long needed myself.
When Work Hurts: Mounting Evidence
Since then, I’ve heard the same story repeated many times. Nicola Naismith’s groundbreaking research, Artists Practising Well (2019), sparked a national conversation about the emotional demands of creative work and the need for support structures such as reflective supervision and peer support groups.
After the pandemic, that need only deepened. Many of us, whether freelance or employed, now work virtually and in isolation. The informal connections — the chats after a meeting, the moments of shared reflection — have all but disappeared.
Julia Puebla Fortier’s PhD thesis Navigating Ambiguity and Boundaries (2023) builds on this body of work, while more recent reports such as The Cultural Freelancers Study (University of Essex for ACE, 2024), The Musicians’ Census (Help Musicians and Musicians’ Union, 2023), and Structurally F-cked (a-n The Artists Information Company et al, 2023) shed further light on the problem.
The evidence is mounting: creative practitioners and cultural workers across the UK are operating in conditions that compromise both wellbeing at work and long-term sustainability.
Clore Leadership’s World of Work research, developed with Arts Council England, the AHRC, and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, invites us to “imagine it different.” To do that, we must take seriously the emotional and relational labour at the heart of creative and caring professions.
If we are serious about building a healthy, equitable, and resilient sector, we must embed reflective practice and peer support as integral parts of professional life.
Reflective Practice: A Source of Nourishment and Growth
Supported reflective practice — especially when done in community — can be a powerful source of learning, wellbeing, and transformation. I’ve witnessed this many times, both as a facilitator and as a participant in peer reflection groups.
This was also borne out in my evaluation of How Ya Doing #2 (HYD#2), a two-year artist wellbeing programme run by the Wales Arts Health and Wellbeing Network (WAHWN) and funded by the Baring Foundation.
“How Ya Doing’s approach is successful not only in supporting practitioners’ individual wellbeing but also in equipping them to address inequitable practices, helping to create a fairer, safer and more sustainable sector for all.” How Ya Doing#2 Evaluation, 2025
Reflective practice training, led by therapist and supervisor Alison O’Connor and produced by Dr Tracy Breathnach, sat at the heart of the programme, which went on to receive the 2025 Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance Artists Practising Well Award.
Reflective practice isn’t about fixing things. It’s about creating compassionate, contained spaces to pause and think — together. It helps us make sense of complex experiences, stay aligned with our values, and reconnect with the meaning and purpose in our work.
What Reflective Practice Offers Us: Five Insights from the Field
Alison O’Connor and Tracy Breathnach recorded a powerful conversation on the value of reflective practice — what it is, why it matters, and how it supports creatives, leaders, and practitioners alike. It’s well worth a listen. You can catch it here.
Here are my five key takeaways on why reflective practice matters:
1. We all need safe spaces to unpick what’s going on
“Having a safe space where things can be unpicked and held not only strengthens the art practice – there is a ripple impact for everyone involved – but can shape and deepen the practitioner’s skills and abilities and wisdom.”
2. Reflecting and sharing with others makes us feel less alone
“The experience of people being able to listen to one another’s work-life challenges and joys and having their own experience witnessed. I’m not alone here — I’m not the only one who sometimes drives home wondering, did I do the right thing? Was that ethical? Safe?”
3. Reflective practice nurtures professional and personal growth
“Reflective Practice isn’t about fixing things or arriving at a solution. It is a supportive and open space to reflect on our work and that intersection between our professional and personal life… This then enables us to grow not only professionally but personally as well.”
4. It prevents burnout and rekindles joy
“It should be funded as a burnout prevention measure so that people don’t crash or leave the field. But increasingly I see it as a space to grow, to access the joy and the wonder of our work.”
5. Expanding access to reflective spaces can change the world
“If all our world leaders had a compassionate reflective space to ask: How am I doing? What decisions am I making? Am I living and working in line with our values? — I think we’d live in a different world.”
An Invitation to Reflect Together
If you’re curious about Reflective Practice, let’s talk. Photo: Hannah Jones
Over the coming months, I’ll be setting up new Reflective Practice Groups for practitioners, researchers, leaders, and teams across the creative health sector. I’m gathering insights to shape what these spaces might look like — what support people need, what’s missing, and what would make them most valuable.
If this resonates, I’d love to hear from you. Whether you’re curious about joining a group, commissioning reflective practice for your team, or simply want to share your thoughts, please do get in touch.
Ready to deepen your reflective practice?
Find out more about my coaching, join the Reflective Journal Programme, or drop into a free Reflective Co-Writing Hour to explore in community.
