The portable therapist: The challenges for therapists working in primary care settings

The term portable therapist captures the idea that therapists in primary care carry within themselves the tools required to undertake therapy in different physical locations. To successfully do this, the therapist needs skills beyond her capacity to work therapeutically. She needs to manage the challenges of working in primary care, particularly that her work and the needs of her patients are situated in a setting that does not necessarily prioritise psychological distress. This paper also explores the experience of being seen as a part-object because of her position on the periphery of the organisations in which she works.