WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY

Reflective Consultation

In a nutshell, reflective consultation is a way to think about what we are trying to accomplish through our work, how it’s going, how we’re feeling about it, and how we’re making sense of it, in order to figure out what to do next.  It can be a helpful way to notice how our own beliefs, life experiences and values impact our work.  It can be a way of centering in all the good that is happening and tending to the pain that comes with the work as well.  It can be a space to speak to the challenges and also lift up and celebrate the innovation and wins of the moment.

While many fields have incorporated reflective consultation, it has not been as available to people who are working to positively influence the well-being of their community as a whole, whether as neighbors or as professionals working within local organizations or philanthropies. 

WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY

Community Keepers

“Community keepers” is one way to describe people who keep their community in mind as a whole system and work to bring about its thriving, even while they are simultaneously devoted to their individual neighborhood or the mission of their particular organization.  This is a unique role and stance that offers and demands a lot of the people who take it up.  For some people it comes naturally, and for others it is a chosen way of being in the world.  In either case, reflective function is a capacity that is central to the role, so reflective consultation can be a valuable support.