…the purpose of this portfolio I think is useful for a young adult with no industry experience but the effectiveness of what UoR wanted to achieve from this for me with 28 years’ industry experience I think is somewhat lost on me.  That doesn’t mean that I don’t acknowledge my weaknesses nor that I need to work on them but equally there is not much I gained from completing this portfolio as the aspects of team work, individual work, time management, self-discipline and self-motivation I have had to employ over my working years; nearly 3 decades.

Challenges encountered was working in group projects as personally I do not believe my overall grade should be affected or incorporate group work grades, as this degree is about my personal academic achievement.  Notwithstanding that, there were two people who were difficult to work with.  In industry it is easy to respond to non-performing team members or those that put their own desires above that of the group project.  It is not so easy responding to these fellow students as we did not know them that well and that your grade is tied to how well we all performed together. What surprised me the most, was that I did not lose my temper as I was focused on what is the best way to achieve a group goal; perhaps I learnt to respond rather than react and to bite my lip!  Also, we are a small group and if I did lose my temper, we would not have the group relationship we have.

I struggled with trying to identifying if this portfolio has helped me with my desired career path and upon reflection, I would say it has about 10%.  I had a plan of my career path set out in 2021 with the steps I needed to take, following the Bases pathway to become a sports psychologist. However, the lecture on Bases highlighted that whilst studying for the open university module I could not take on any clients until I finished the module, been accepted onto SEPAR and secured a supervisor. Great programming from the academic team included a lecture on professional doctorates and I knew then that is my route.  As a homeowner with a mortgage, I did a cost analysis of the various routes, as any adult with financial commitments would. This is where my heart and head are at different ends of the spectrum; the BPS/Bases route is financially economical but that I have always wanted to be Dr. Thomas; so, doctorate here I come.

The part this portfolio has played is in regards to whether I should look to identify areas of specialism or whether I should allow that to organically evolve during my practice. However, the two lectures that I reflected upon are personal to me; one, I had disordered eating and two, I am a qualified sports therapist working with injured athletes.  Doing the research for these reflections highlighted the prevalence of these issues and without sounding too calculating these issues could potentially account for ¼ of my potential client base which is a significant proportion of my client base. Increasing performance and being successful will only get more prominent therefore these issues will not decrease but will increase.  To me, it makes sense to seek additional training for these issues both on their concepts and interventions.  With that said, I do feel that I should allow any training in other specialist areas to organically develop based on my interest or issues that my client base is presenting with as my practice grows.

The other consideration that was explored during the professional practice module is who is your client if you have been hired by an organisation.  I originally answered that the organisation is the client as they will be paying my fees but that there could be a conflict of interest.  However, it was put to me whether as professional mental health practitioners our duty of care and code of conduct should be first and foremost the mental health care of the individual? I reflected upon this for a few weeks as this is tricky subject to traverse. The more I thought about this, it was right that the individual’s needs come first regardless of whether their needs or wants align with the organisation (client) objectives for that individual. For the therapeutic relationship to flourish the individual needs to know their needs are the most important factor. The stronger the therapeutic alliance the more likely the individual is to open up and be honest about their issues, which is essential for creating a healthy pathway back to a mentally strong place.  That then means having a firm but clear agenda when taking on clients that are organisations that the individual athlete is my client and their mental health needs are the needs I will address.  Moreover, there is also limited information I can share with the organisation due to client confidentiality and that is also a conversation to have with the organisation before signing any contract.

The module that has helped me the most is the application to psychological support where we experienced what it is like to plan, prepare, deliver and educate potential clients on their presenting issues.  This was the most invaluable module and really made me believe that I am definitely on the right course and career path.  This module gave great insight into the practical elements of running a practice with preparation and planning work.  How to do a needs analysis and identify the presenting issue for the client and educate the client on what intervention could be put in place to help them.  Not only that, there are practical elements to running a business, pricing strategy for example, charging the right amount taking into consideration the non-clinical time you are working on for that client.  How to write terms and conditions and cancellation policy; all useful and valuable.  As whilst we are psychologists and there to help athletes but we must also remember professional boundaries both in how we treat athletes/clients but also in how they treat us.