Facilitating Reflective Practice Groups for Creative Practitioners

“A totally nourishing, inspiring and invigorating few days. Alison created a welcoming, non-judgemental, fully inclusive environment which allowed everyone the space and time to express themselves safely and confidently. I will use the energy I now feel, and the knowledge I have gained to forge ahead and help inform reflective practice within my organisation to help both staff and the artists we support.” Participant

Dates:

May 12th and 13th 2026 10am-4.30pm

July 1st 2026 10am-12.30pm

Sept 9th 2026 10am-12.30pm

The training course is aimed at artists, creative practitioners, coaches, trainers and arts in health professionals who are already experienced facilitators. This 3-day experiential training course will introduce you to the concept of Reflective Practice and equip you with the skills to begin running Reflective Practice groups within your organisation or externally.

Reflective Practice has been proven to reduce burnout and support wellbeing and vitality across the helping professions. Research suggests that artists and creative practitioners may be at increased risk of burnout due to the precarious and sometimes isolating nature of their work. There is a growing expectation across the UK arts and health commissioning landscape for artist wellbeing to be integrated into all projects.

The evaluation of a two- year programme of reflective support for artists, commissioned by Wales Arts Health and Wellbeing Network, and supported by The Baring Foundation, confirmed the benefits of Reflective Practice Training for arts practitioners:

“Alison's Reflective Practice Training built a new community of practice. The training fostered connection, confidence, and new facilitation skills, with reflective practice increasingly integrated into staff meetings, project debriefs, and creative sessions. Participants valued the experiential, well-held nature of the training and described becoming more reflective and less reactive in their work and daily lives.” How Ya Doing Evaluation Report, Jane Willis, 2025.

Day 1:

• Introduction to Reflective Practice for creative practitioners.
• Experiencing a Reflective Practice session as a participant: reflecting and learning from this.
• Introduction to Reflective Group Dynamics.
• Facilitation styles and skills required.

Day 2:

• Practising in small groups with feedback.
• Designing your first programme.

• Framing a Reflective Practice session: time, objectives, group agreement.

• Key considerations: Supervision and self-care; safeguarding; roles and responsibilities, common challenges and concerns.

Day 3:

This consists of two half-day sessions, 1 month and 3 months after the initial training (July 1st & Sept 9th 2026), in which the group come back together and share their experiences as Reflective Practice facilitators. This will be a space to reflect on your emerging practice and your professional growth within a supportive community of practice.

Trainer Bio

Alison O'Connor is a therapist, writer and trainer with 30 years’ experience of applied theatre and therapeutic practice. She has been privileged to work in diverse settings, including prisons, Romanian orphanages, in substance misuse, with older adults, military veterans and survivors of complex trauma. She worked for several years as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Counselling and Psychotherapy at University of South Wales.

She is Co-Founder and Company Supervisor of Re-Live, an Arts and Health charity, co-creating Life Story Theatre with older adults and people affected by trauma and adversity. Alison and Re-Live Co-founder, Karin Diamond, received an Arts and Health Practice Award from the Royal Society of Public Health for creative work with military families. They also received an award for International Leadership in Arts and Health from Arts and Health Australia. They recently co-authored Creating Life Story Theatre: A Guide for Applied Theatre Practitioners, with Clark Baim which was published by Methuen Drama in 2025.

Alison’s research study, The Work Hurts, explored practitioners’ perspectives on the emotional impact of working in arts and health, and the mitigating effects of supervision and reflective practice. The findings were published in the Journal of Applied Arts and Health.

Alison is passionate about enhancing practitioner wellbeing by co-creating restorative, reflective experiences that support fellow professionals to be well in the work they do.

www.alisonoconnor.co.uk