Background: The process of reflecting is one that is said to help both researchers and practitioners define and explore issues that arise in their work. It can be used to critically examine things that are going badly, or to look at things that are going well and to see how that happened and what can be done to continue the trend.

Aims: This article is a critical reflection of my experience of using reflection during my doctoral studies. It focuses on reflection using creative methods, for highlighting challenges and discovering identity and context.

Implications for practice:

• The process of reflection can highlight challenges and approaches needed when implementing a change initiative
• Using creative methods of reflection can open up (unlock) new ways of knowing, encourage a more in-depth exploration of experiences and promote dialogue

This article by Catherine Buckley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 License.