As a profession Counselling Psychology is continually growing and challenging itself in how it is perceived and identified not only by those amongst the community but also by those who work alongside it or use services provided by its members. Alongside this is the constant growth and development in psychological and counselling practices which present us with not only new ways of working but also further understanding of how we do our work.,. Counselling psychologists often value the way in which they are able to embrace different schools of thought within therapeutic practice and this unique skill set can also make them valuable practitioners. However, when conducting a literature review it was revealed that the experience of working across different counselling approaches is not one that is often discussed. The perspective of the practitioner is often neglected whilst the focus is instead on looking at effective practice. To consider this experience I have conducted semi-structured interviews with ten Counselling Psychologists whom had varying levels of experience across counselling approaches in different settings. The resulting data has been analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) providing an insight into the participants own intra-psyche processes as well as their interpersonal processes within the work itself. Additionally, the research has led to consideration of the impact of how we work in these processes and the effect of external factors such as workplace constraints. The findings present the importance of providing Counselling Psychologists with an open dialogue on their practice and the need to understand what it is that drives us to work across different models. By having this conversation greater emphasis is placed on what enables a Counselling Psychologist to create good work rather than merely considering the techniques that take place in a session. The study also highlights how external factors affect Counselling Psychologist's ability to do good work and how it is important for qualitative research to take into account this area of the profession's experience. The implications of these findings relate not only to specifically how Counselling Psychologist's work but how as practitioners the therapeutic process is experienced and facilitated. These findings developed into four major thematic categories which related to the internal, external and inter-intra psychic processes experienced in the work. The major themes are: In the room - discoveries of the here and now Tensions in the work - desires and drives • Care and support in the work • Integration and eclecticism Conclusions about counselling psychology practice and the role of the psychologist were drawn from these and the identified sub-themes. Areas highlighted included counselling psychology training and the context of the work. Suggestions for further research are made. Keywords: Counselling psychology; Experience of working across counselling approaches; Therapeutic relationship; Framework of practice; Integration; Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis; Qualitative methodology

This study looked at the intersection of subjectivities with respect to gender, sexuality and professional role for eight gay male therapists and how these positionings affected their experience of working with male clients. Following Hollway & Jefferson’s (2000) Free Association Narrative Interview (FANI) method, each participant was interviewed twice and the data analysed using psychosocial discourse analysis. The primary analysis was analysed again using an approach informed by Foucauldian concepts (Yates & Hiles, 2010). The data gathering and double-­‐analysis approach accessed intrapsychic, interpersonal and wider socio-­‐political fields within which subject positionings are understood to be constructed, performed and negotiated. All participants struggled to navigate between polar binary positions in gender and sexuality discourses. Three principal subject positions were identified: ‘Pinocchio’, ‘Walks-­‐Between’ and ‘I’mejusteaebloke’. Those in the ‘Pinocchio’ position appeared more effeminate and, by extension, more obviously gay. They tended to construct their sexual and gender identities as more important and were more likely to express fear and anxiety in talking about all-­‐male dyads. Those in the ‘I’mejusteaebloke’ position appeared more authentically masculine and tended to see their gender and sexual identities as relatively unproblematic. They were more likely to focus on their professional identity and to express relatively less anxiety about working with men. The ‘Walks-­‐Between’ position attempted to bridge gender and sexuality binaries to create a position that valued homosocial intimacy and vulnerability in the relationship. All but one of the participants suggested that it was important for the work that their sexuality remained hidden from their male clients, although most acknowledged that this was less problematic if their male client was himself gay. The potential for both polar positions to work against homosocial intimacy in all-­‐male dyads as well as implications for counselling psychology research, training and practice are discussed and suggestions made for future research work.

This preface is designed to provide insight for the reader into the reasoning behind choosing these specific pieces of work to make up the doctorate portfolio and why I consider them to be important pieces, contributing to my identity and competence as a counselling psychologist. This doctorate portfolio is comprised of a selection of completed work for the Practitioner Doctorate in Counselling Psychology for The University of Wolverhampton. It contains three dossiers: Academic, therapeutic and research. In a seperate document is a confidential attachment, which is separate to this portfolio as it contains confidential information. The Academic Dossier contains essays that were submitted for the modules 'Life-span Approach' and 'Working with Couples'. Received academic feedback for these essays are provided within the confidential attachment. The Therapeutic Dossier contains two essays that were written at the last stages of the three year doctorate course, reflecting upon my perceived professional development in the 'Professional Issues' essay and an exploration of therapeutic experience on supervised placements in 'Supervised Practice', over the last three academic years. A conscious decision was also made to not edit these essays for entering into the doctorate portfolio, as they can then ideally represent a growth in writing style and academic ability, which has occurred over the course of this doctoral training. Finally the Research Dossier is composed of several chapters, including a literature review, empirical study and critical appraisal.