Abstract
This portfolio contains work which was submitted as part of the practitioner Doctorate (PsychD) in psychotherapeutic and counselling psychology at the University of Surrey. It comprises of three dossiers which reflect the three aspects of the training course; academic, therapeutic and research works. The academic dossier contains two essays. The first an essay focusing on how the understanding of attachment experiences is important to the practice of psychodynamic psychotherapy, and counselling psychology. The second essay presents the implications of homework assignments for the process and therapeutic relationship within a cognitive behavioural framework. The therapeutic dossier reflects years two and three of the training course and contains brief placement descriptions of my psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural clinical placements. The dossier also contains a final clinical paper which includes reflections of my personal and professional training in counselling psychology across a period of six years. The research dossier contains three pieces of work completed over the last three years of training. The first a literature review which explores the psychological impact of hair loss on self image and identity in women who have experienced chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. It offers a discussion on how psychotherapeutic interventions which leave out the body and touch could be incorporated with touch therapies namely massage to provide a more holistic intervention for individuals with this chronic illness which may implicate the body. The second is a research project exploring women’s experiences of hair loss as a result of treatment for breast cancer and their use of mind and body interventions. This was a qualitative project using Interpretative phenomenological analysis. The third piece of work is also a qualitative research project focusing on how psychotherapists of varying orientations and who have chronic health condition manage their own health status when working psychotherapeutically with clients.