We work so hard to develop skills and processes that guide our day to day practice. When we have ways of working we know so well that we don’t have to think so much about them, we can free up our attention for the person in front of us. But the familiar can become fossilised if we’re not careful. When we slip into habitual grooves we may miss opportunities to tune into individual needs or discover unexpected avenues to explore.
Like travelling to a country with a culture very different from our own, it can help to shake up our professional snow dome from time to time and immerse ourselves in new ways of thinking and working. We don’t necessarily have to go on to practice it ourselves – indeed, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing – for it to help to loosen up assumptions, discover blind spots and find fresh perspectives.
If our main mode is talking, we may explore body, arts or action based approaches. If we’re academically minded, we might seek frameworks grounded in spiritual or indigenous wisdom. If we work with adults, we can find out what youth workers can teach us. Instead of asking “where’s the evidence?” we can ask “where’s the learning?”
Helen Mentha 