Reflective Practice for Practitioners
In-person and Online Courses

Autumn 2025 to Spring 2026

Open to all Practitioners- One In-Person Course (Cork City) and Two Online Courses

Course fees for participants are highly subsidised (Subject to funding)

Are you working or volunteering in a community oriented and/or service-oriented role? Are you interested to support yourself and others in challenging work environments so as to avoid burnout. Are you interested in being better able to bring about positive change through your role? Are you interested in reflecting with others, and learning about the under-lying assumptions, motivations, feelings and beliefs that shape your practice, whether paid or voluntary? Are you interested in being better able to bring about positive change in the organisation or systems you are involved with, or in your community? These SHEP courses starting in Sept/Oct 2025 may be of interest.

An Innovative & Practical Course

These courses will be of interest to a wide range of practitioners, paid or voluntary, involved in various roles in Community and Voluntary groups, social service agencies, public or local authority (e.g. education, youth and community work, social work, childcare, healthcare, housing, inter-agency work etc.).

Aims of this course:

• Provide for 12 participants a space to reflect together on their prior and current practice experiences.
• Explore the assumptions, values, beliefs and feelings that underpin participants’ ways of being active in their settings.
• Strengthen practitioner capacities (insight, resilience, self-compassion) to support organisations and systems evolve and align values.
• Enhance capacity to co-create space for personal and group learning from practice reflection.

Certification

A SHEP certificate in Reflective Practice for Practitioners will be awarded where an 80% attendance record is achieved.

Highly Subsidised

There is a small €45 fee from participants to cover course book/materials.

Practitioners

Open to paid/voluntary practitioners (over 18) who:

• Have a strong commitment to promoting social change, inclusion, equality and justice and are active in their community or organisation in a paid or voluntary capacity.
• Are working or volunteering in a Community or Voluntary sector organisation, social service agencies, public or local authority (e.g. education, youth and community work, social work, childcare, health care, housing community representative, inter-agency roles etc.)
• Have a willingness to be open in a group setting, sufficient for a process of reflection on the assumptions, values and feelings underpinning their volunteering or work.

Schedule - Available Options

• Option 1 In-person - Wednesday evenings 7.30pm-10pm, SHEP Centre, Cork (T12 XDH2) – facilitators: Margaret Fenton & Liam Mc Carthy.
• Option 2 Online - Thursday evenings (7pm-10pm) – facilitators: Frances Day and Deirdre O’Sullivan.
• Option 3 Online - Thursday evenings (7pm-9.30pm) – facilitators: Mai Kerins & Joan Frawley.

Each course involves 30 hours from Sept ’25 to March 2026 meeting approx. fortnightly. Individual 15min 1:1 individual intake meetings will be scheduled.

For Further Information:

Call Liam McCarthy at SHEP (021) 4666 180 or Jess Bowen (089 6100906) or email
Liam.McCarthy@socialandhealth.com or jess.bowen@socialandhealth.com

Or on the SHEP website: https://www.socialandhealth.com/training/reflective-practice/

Email application to: info@socialandhealth.com

Application closing date – Wed 25th June ‘25