A note from the road, the clinic, and the heart of our community

Welcome to Developmental FX Learning Journeys' Insights newsletter, designed especially for clinicians. Each month, we'll offer a few quiet moments to pause, reflect, and stay connected - with our work, with one another, and with the larger Learning Journeys community. The core vision for this newsletter is for it to become another essential pathway, alongside the Learning Journey Community and our shared podcast, SpIRiTed Conversations, through which we can collectively learn and grow.
 

In our new monthly newsletter, you’ll find:


• a short personal reflection from Tracy Stackhouse, 
• shared insights from our community, and 
• a clear calendar of upcoming offerings so you always know what’s unfolding and how to engage. 
  

We are so happy you are here! We hope that this newsletter strengthens our community, providing a space where like-minded colleagues can learn from one another’s insights and collectively elevate our important work.

JANUARY 2026: REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

Before I ‘befriended’ and really committed to reflective practice, I thought reflection was something you did after the work was over - once the client had left, the notes were written, and the day had finally calmed down. But lately I’ve been noticing how much of our real learning is happening inside the work, not after it. This shift happens when reflection becomes part of the work itself and incorporates both aspects of classically identified types of reflection: reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action (after Schön).

I see it in our team when someone pauses mid-session and softens their voice instead of pushing the task. I see it in mentees who say, “I don’t know why, but I stayed with that moment instead of redirecting.” And I see it in myself when I choose curiosity over efficiency. In those reflective moments, everything shifts.

True reflective practice, however, transcends this notion. It lifts our work rather than entangling us in it, creating space for perspective, integration, and growth. This month in the Learning Journeys Community, our reading is from our own team member, Hannah Burke, and her colleagues on the need to define clinical reasoning, reflection, and evidence-based practice in The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (2023). Her article invites us to consider how these ideas work together, synergistically, to support our practice. Central to all of this is our capacity to reflect with compassion and curiosity in service of our growth as clinicians.

Reflective practice is about learning to notice what is happening inside the work - inside your body, inside the child, inside the room, and inside the relationship. This “inside information” is telling you, in real time, what you need in order to deepen your practice. It’s the difference between ‘doing’ the intervention and ‘being with’ as a core element of the intervention. Reflective practice invites staying open, flexible, and making adjustments as you go - not a procedure, but a process. Reflective practice invites us to think on our feet, on the floor, and in the shower! I love how this allows us to experiment and trust ourselves. 



This month, I invite you to gently experiment with noticing the inside. Notice the urge to fix, the pull to hurry, the focus on the product (goal) rather than the process (what is unfolding). And just once or twice, try staying with noticing a few breaths longer than usual. In this space, allow reflection to be a part of your process. You may be surprised by what emerges.

Warmly, and in reflection,

Tracy

This month in the Learning Journeys Community...

We are deepening our exploration of reflective practice in the Learning Journeys Community this month. Within the community we are sharing reflective practice tools and research, and you can join us January 29th for a community forum - a live discussion about the month’s topic. We hope to see you there!

More ways to connect...

DFX Learning Journeys Opportunities:


• The STEPPSI 2026 Cohort is now open for enrollment and starts January 26th! This is an opportunity to learn alongside colleagues, and to participate in live learning calls with Tracy and the Learning Journeys team. 

Other Ways to Join Us:


• If you prefer in-person learning and are near North Carolina, USA, Tracy and Hannah are teaching the STEPPSI, with a focus on nature-based practice, in March. Learn more here. 
  
• Tracy will be back leading the practicum program at Jabiru in New South Wales, Australia in April! This practicum program includes training in the SpIRiT model and mentoring throughout the week with lots of “hands on” learning. Learn more here.  
  
• In September CPD Retreats is hosting Tracy for a second time as she leads “A Spirited Retreat” - an immersive learning experience in Bali, Indonesia focused on the SpIRiT model. Learn more here.  
  
• In case you missed it, Tracy wrote a post for Jan Winhall’s newsletter, “Sensory Integration: Portals of Healing, Stability, and Expansion.”
  
• At the 2026 Avanti symposium, Tracy will be on a panel about the power of intensity and will also be giving a presentation on “The Convergence of Sensory Integration Theory & Polyvagal Theory in Clinical Practice.”
  
• Hear Tracy’s keynote address, “The Science of Being Together: Co-Regulation, S-A-M, and the Epigenetics of Flourishing” at this year’s ICDL conference!

Learning Journeys

Learning Journeys Community

Spirited Conversations Podcast