When my reflection starts from a discomfort or an emotion, I find that the Atkins and Murphy model is more appropriate to help me working on my feelings. I start looking at what I sense, I try to locate it physically (in my chest, in my heart, in my tummy, on my eyes or my shoulders, sometimes my legs). Then, I follow through my checklist, trying to be as Factual and thorough as possible. It is a rather deep model, and I can relate to previous events and experiences. It is also challenging as I have to check on my personal belief and assumptions. It is intriguing as it makes me investigate alternatives and possibilities. Also, I particularly like this model as is all about learning and increase my knowledge with the use of awareness and problem solving. 

Purpose and Benefits:  invites deeper reflections, avoids superficial responses, purposedly identifies challenges and encourages to consider assumptions, evaluates relevance and impact of alternatives building on your previous experience, identifies the learning generated by the process. 

Not for:  not easy for beginners; not for quick reflections

Using different point of views to analyse a situation. It is an intriguing exercise, mind opening and can do wonder to practice empathy. I did an exercise once, where we had to wear different hats in a foster care simulation. This model reminds me of that. Very powerful,  not easy, requires knowledge of the different perspective/players and can lead to the wrong result if too many assumptions are used.

Purpose and Benefits: Good for personal development and empathy increase. Generates deeper awareness and is an eye opener. It involves personal self-reflection, others feedback, peer feedback, and information from expers and literature. 

Not for: difficult to use for people with limited imagination. it implies that we can really put ourselves into someone else's mind and that we can remove biases.

When my reflection moves on from facts, something that happened, something I spot, I noticed that Gibbs is the model I turn to.  I start from those facts, describing them as well as I can and then I meditate on what emotions that episode generates in me. Again, the checklist helps me deepen my thoughts. In these cases, I find that the Gibbs reflecting models is more effective for me because despite being quite simple, it touches all the 6 relevant stages I need to deepen when analysing an event. A model like Gibbs is faster, as it doesn’t push me beyond, in the search for further possibilities, it sticks with that fact. I find that this or Kolb work similarly, and I prefer Gibbs depth over Kolb’s, probably the wording and structure, or maybe is just because of the colourfulness of the picture!

Purpose and Benefits: Makes you aware of all the stages you go through when experiencing an event. Acknowledges that personal feelings influence the situation. Breaks down reflection into six distinctive stages. It is easy and quite fast as it doesn't delve into critical thinking or analysis.  It is lighter as it avoids looking into assumptions about the experience (or challenging one's assumptions) therefore making it more subjective, for the there and then, problem solving level 1.

Not for: not for deep analysis and critical thinking. Not for challenging one's core assumptions or for using a new perspective

I find this model similar to Gibbs, starting from experience (facts, situations) and then working on the analysis of what happened and its evaluation. It doesnt go really deep, but sometimes it's not needed. Sometimes is just about understanding what happened and cope with it.

Purpose and Benefits: simple, quick and doable without too much thinkin about it. Good for moving on.

Not for: deep thinking, challenging assumptions, raise new awareness

This is a deeper version of the previous model, which repeats the questions in 3 cycles, with a deeper reflection at each cycle. It requires to be able to get into layers and layers of awareness through 3 levels: Descriptive, theoretical and action oriented (Borton's dvlpmt model)

Purpose and Benefits:  Greater depths and awareness, generates new knowledge and challenges thinking. 

Not for:  a bit hard for beginners, better used with an experienced guide 

Reflection during the action VS Reflection after the action. This is something I experience sometimes, when I spot mistakes like asking too many questions at once or asking leading questions. It is fascinating how I can become more aware the more I practice. I guess this is a natural consequence of practising reflection: our brain learns the technique and then develop new abilities along the way.

Purpose and Benefits: Increase professional abilities and to become more aware during sessions. Increase confidence. Increase awareness on the go.

Not for: difficult to learn or teach as lacks guidance on how to practice