Reflecting Together: Reflective Functioning as a Focus for Deepening Group Supervision

This article proposes how group reflective supervision, informed by the theory of reflective functioning, may provide a powerful method for developing reflective capacity of staff serving families, infants, and young children in multidisciplinary settings. An explanation of reflective functioning, related research, and its relevance to relational treatment and preventive intervention are discussed. Other approaches to reflective practice are referenced. We describe the necessary tension and encounters with distressing affect that mark reflective supervision groups using this focus. In addition, we identify areas of heightened difficulty in infant family work and describe how a group supervision process that enables use of self alongside perspectives of others may address these challenges while leading to increased reflective capacity among participants. Finally, we touch on relevant research on group supervision and parameters of size and focus, and highlight facilitation skills needed to create group safety and coherence. Areas for further study are proposed.