The INDABA Debrief Tool is an Ubuntu‑informed reflective framework designed to support meaningful, culturally‑rooted reflection within nursing, social work, and the wider helping professions. Grounded in principles of collective humanity, shared accountability, and relational practice, INDABA provides a structured process that enables practitioners, students, and teams to explore events with compassion, depth, and communal wisdom. The tool centres six interconnected stages — Initiate the Circle, Name the Story, Dive into Meaning, Acknowledge Humanity, Build Collective Wisdom, and Agree the Way Forward — to foster safety, shared learning, and ethical action.

Please cite as:
Dlamini, C. (2026). The INDABA Debrief Tool: An Ubuntu‑informed reflective model for nursing, social work, and the helping professions.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18838763

Abstract

The INDABA Debrief Tool is an Ubuntu‑informed reflective framework developed to support meaningful, culturally grounded reflection within nursing, social work, and the wider helping professions. Drawing on African relational philosophies of collective humanity, shared accountability, and community wisdom, the tool offers a structured six‑stage process that centres relational safety, collaborative meaning‑making, and ethical action following complex, emotionally charged, or ethically challenging practice situations. The model guides practitioners through: Initiating the Circle to establish safety and shared purpose; Naming the Story to co‑construct a non‑blaming account of events; Diving into Meaning to surface assumptions, beliefs, and contextual influences; Acknowledging Humanity to hold emotion, moral distress, and dignity; Building Collective Wisdom to translate insights into systems‑level learning; and Agreeing the Way Forward to formulate shared commitments for future action. Developed to enhance reflective supervision, debriefs, and team learning, the INDABA framework integrates cultural humility with trauma‑sensitive and relationally responsive practice. The tool contributes a decolonial, community‑centred alternative to dominant Western reflective models by foregrounding interconnectedness and collective learning. It aims to strengthen professional judgement, emotional resilience, and restorative organisational cultures across health and social care settings.

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18838763