Background: Health care professionals who regularly engage in reflection have better self–awareness, improved ability to cope with stress, and stronger partnerships with families. Reflection in health care can be defined as ‘the process of analyzing, questioning and reframing an experience in order to make an assessment of it for the purposes of learning (reflective learning) and/or to improve practice (reflective practice).The Touchpoints approach TM, which is designed to strengthen relationships between healthcare providers and families, provides one such framework to help healthcare professionals with reflective practice. Elements of reflective practice including reflecting on what the parent said or did, meaning making, and what the clinician said or did in response.Case Series Summary: Two cases will be described to highlight reflective practice1. The Father of a 7 year old boy who had initially refused all intervention for his special needs child came to accept the recommendations of the paediatrician2. The depressed single mother of two children with developmental delays who declined mental health support but felt most supported with the installation of a household cabinet.Learning Points discussion: Reflective practice allows the clinician to connect meaningfully with families in powerful encounters. The Touchpoints TM approach allows the clinician to use a framework of reflective practice in a structured and predictable way to enhance clinician satisfaction and empower families.
