Abstract
This portfolio contains my doctoral research, clinical work and reflections on my journey of personal and professional development during my training as a counselling psychologist. In the initial introduction, I briefly offer some information about my personal history, my philosophical world view and highlight some important learning experiences. The introduction is followed by my therapeutic practice dossier which offers an overview of each of my 3 training placements, encompassing almost 500 hours of clinical practice. My 3 clinical placements across my 4 years of training consist of working one year at a University student counselling centre, one in IAPT services and two years in primary care as part of a Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). In my first year I had the opportunity to work using the person-centred model. In my second placement in IAPT I worked using brief psychodynamic therapy and in my final two years I employed a more integrative approach with a strong emphasis on traditional and third wave CBT. A number of anonymised case studies together with placement reports and agreements can be found in the signposted digital appendices. My research dossier begins with a brief introduction to three self-contained projects; a literature review and two qualitative studies. My literature review attempts to disseminate the literature regarding the differences between religious and secular individuals on psychological health and well-being. The second project draws on Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore how Atheist clients experience psychotherapy. My final research project attempts to explore how religious fundamentalists exit their religion and abandon their religious beliefs. The final part of the portfolio includes a reflective paper on my identity development as a counselling psychologist. This piece of work includes key learning experiences and anonymised case studies which are interweaven with reflections on the four pillars of my professional training; Clinical, research, academic and personal and professional development.