Reflective Entry 1 – A Challenging Encounter at a Bus Stop(Using Gibbs' Reflective Cycle

 

 

Reflective Blog Entry: The Value and Application of Critical Thinking in a Mental Health Practice

 

Description

During an activity in a recent situation where a mental health nurse was attending to a patient who had an acute episode of anxiety. The patient, who happened to be in shock during a consultation, did not wish to continue any further and the nurse was at loss of what to do next. I was the primary person to conduct the conversation on the assessment phase, to determine what was good and what should be done better. The teamwork was productive, although initially, some participants could not cope with the emotional presence of the situation, which is an indication of mental health practice. 

Feelings

Reading this situation evoked the feeling of empathy, as I remembered a placement where I helped a client with such anxiety symptoms. I was both frustrated and sympathetic towards the nurse because it is not an easy task to combine patient autonomy and clinical responsibility. As continued with Gibbs Cycle, I was increasingly becoming confident in expressing my ideas about how one may use critical thinking to frame such scenarios and encouraging the rest of the group to learn together. 

Evaluation

The activity demonstrated the benefits of the Gibbs Cycle method to outline  critical thinking in mental health practice. The behaviours of the nurse when she tried to de-escalate the situation with the offer of space was right, and it is in line with the principles of person-centered care (NMC, 2018). The follow-up plan was however weak since no clear plan was presented thus risking disengagement. Our group discussions were fruitful but showed that people had different opinions on which factor was more important on the part of the nurse, to intervene and exclude the issue of the patient withdrawing, or to follow by the respective choice. This shows the complications in ethical decision making. 

Analysis

The rejection by the patient was, apparently, due to debilitating anxiety though there were also systematic factors that could have added on to anxiety such as time sufficiency in consultations as discussed by Fook and Gardner (2007) on contextual influences on practice.  The answer given by the nurse was emotionally intelligent, although the proposed proactive steps, e.g., the possibility to provide alternative communication channels (e.g., written follow 

ups), might have kept the engagement. Sheppard (2007) points out that practitioners must have self-awareness, through which the assumption such as thinking that the patient had permanently refused may be reflected as he/she may have just refused under that situation. The key messages of group discussion were the use of critical thinking that requires solving power 

relationships such as what the nurses could do in relation to what the patient could do to prevent coercive labour practices. 

Conclusion

The training exercise supported the vitality of critical thinking in the practice of mental health in the management of complicated situations, which are emotionally charged. It is a process of challenging assumptions, thinking the factors of the system and weighing ethical ideas, as proposed by Schon (1983) in his principle of reflection-in-action. I have also got to know that critical thinking entails the combination of emotional and intellectual intelligence and a systematic reflection to achieve a patient-centered process. Systemic barriers, including time limitation were also noted to improve the outcomes. 

Action Plan

To enable my future practice, I will incorporate Gibbs Cycle in reflecting upon challenging mental health interactions to make sure that I reflect not only on emotional factors but on the systemic ones as well. My biases will be investigated, and I will consequently demand supervision to reinforce my judgments following the recommendations of Ruch (2007). Also, I will apply such strategies as providing flexibility of communication to retain the attention of the patients. Keeping a reflective diary, thanks to the advice of Finlay (2008), it will enable me to monitor my process and enhance my proficiency of critical thinking in the mental health institute.

Reference List 

Finlay, L. (2008). Reflecting on ‘Reflective practice’. https://oro.open.ac.uk/68945/1/Finlay- (2008)-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf 

Fook, J., & Gardner, F. (2007). Practising critical reflection: A resource handbook. McGraw Hill Education (UK). 

nmc.org.uk, (2024). The Code: Professional standards of practice. Available at: https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards/code/ 

Ruch, G. (2007). Reflective practice in contemporary child-care social work: The role of  containment. British Journal of Social Work, 37(4), 659-680. 

Schön, D. A. (2017). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Routledge.