Blog about critical thinking in practice

 Reflective Blog – The Value of Critical Thinking in Practice

Within my previous work, I realised the importance of critical thinking within the workplace. This is especially true of mental health sectors, as mental health is just as important as physical health and needs to be treated as such. Using the Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle was the best way to think analytically, in a methodical way (Gambrill and Gibbs, 2017). It spelt out each step of the thinking process, while highlighting flaws and improvements needed. This section will explore the value of critical thinking in practice, and ideal ways to apply this to everyday workplaces, from a mental health perspective.

I wrote previously about how a family member of mine went through deep feelings of depression and explored how I dealt with this. I feel I dealt with it well, but I was not thinking about my actions as critically as might be needed. I responded with care and listened carefully, but I was not really thinking critically about how I could be there and what action was best to take. This is understandable, as most people will respond on reflex, but it means that there was a lot that I may have missed or overlooked that a mental health professional would not (Adam and Juergensen, 2019). I did not consider any causes for depression or offer any resources initially, it was only after I had gone home and had time to think and research that I responded with a more critical approach.

This is why critical thinking is so important in practice especially within the mental health sector (Gloudemans, Schalk and Reynaert, 2013). I had assumed my family member was busy with work, or tired from this work, to make excuses for their depression in my head. This surface level thinking is opposed to critical thinking, and makes it much easier for people’s poor mental health to go unnoticed until it is too late. Critical thinking is essential because it helps to consider these smaller factors as possible early signs of larger mental issues, and helps to remove the idea that mental heath care is not as urgent as physical health care. Both can be deadly, so both should be considered through the same lens. If I was able to go back, I would take these smaller symptoms of mental health issues more seriously, and try to intervene sooner. Being aware of which patterns indicate deteriorating mental health, how to approach someone kindly and learning what is available in the UK as a resource has also helped e become more confident that I would deal with this situation better now, using critical thinking.

A key part of critical thinking is being able to analyse yourself. This type of self awareness was hard for me, especially when I was closely connected to the person having issues, but I see its importance now. When I look back on the situation, I realise that my lack of critical thinking initially was due to my own emotional reaction, out of fear for a loved one. This helped me appreciate the mental health professionals who face emotionally intense interactions like this daily, and think about it critically and calmly (Hung et al, 2015). This ability helps them to avoid picking up emotional stress from patients, so they would not react the same way I happened to.

The skill to critically think in this way, to avoid burnout and guard your own emotions is applicable in a range of different work environments where mental health is at the forefront, from teaching to nursing. My reason for noticing it so closely was related to mental health, but the ability to think critically is key to a lot of different workplaces. I would summarise the process as making sure to notice early warning signs, making the person feel comfortable enough to open up without fear of judgement, balancing care with practicality and making sure to remain introspective and self aware.

I respect and recognise the importance of critical thinking much more now. The Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle can be applied to a whole range of different scenarios, and helps with this (Patterson et al, 2016). Thinking processes like this are essential to providing proper mental health care or monitoring mental health care, whether it be on an individual or professional level. My previous experiences have taught me that it is important to realise that a willingness to help is not enough alone, and learning to think critically is the key to providing good care in practice.

 

References

Adam, S. and Juergensen, L., 2019. Toward critical thinking as a virtue: The case of mental health nursing education. Nurse education in practice, 38, pp.138-144.

Gambrill, E. and Gibbs, L., 2017. Critical thinking for helping professionals: A skills-based workbook. Oxford University Press.

Gloudemans, H.A., Schalk, R.M. and Reynaert, W., 2013. The relationship between critical thinking skills and self-efficacy beliefs in mental health nurses. Nurse education today, 33(3), pp.275-280.

Hung, T.M., Tang, L.C. and Ko, C.J., 2015. How mental health nurses improve their critical thinking through problem-based learning. Journal for nurses in professional development, 31(3), pp.170-175.

Patterson, C., Moxham, L., Brighton, R., Taylor, E., Sumskis, S., Perlman, D., Heffernan, T. and Hadfield, L., 2016. Nursing students' reflections on the learning experience of a unique mental health clinical placement. Nurse education today, 46, pp.94-98.