Clients‟ experience of counselling within a narrative framework

 
Construct: towards containment - freedom 
Although the client seems to feel stuck she actually appears to be full of her own feelings. 
Compared to the previous unemotional entry this one is full of feelings as if she is re-
experiencing the feelings of abandonment and rape that have imprisoned her feeling self for so 
long. She appears to feel validated and perhaps she is beginning to validate her own feelings 
rather than only relying on the counsellor to do this. She also feels isolated and alone which 
suggests a shift towards freedom in that such separateness / difference from others may feel too 
awful to contemplate. 
Week 27. 
Line 1.
I felt better. 
Line 2.
Greater understanding of the 
Line 3.
„Bereavement process‟ I had 
Line 4.
been experiencing in my life. 
Line 5.
Less emotions + pain, more 
Line 6.
of an observers perspective 
Line 7.
+ so understanding. 
Line 8.
Felt very good on leaving. 
Line 9.
Returning to normality?!? 
Line 10.
Some uncertainty + excitement feelings. 
The client seems to feel better (line 1) following the difficulties of the previous week. She 
appears to have gained an understanding (line 2) of the bereavement process (line 3) in relation 
to her life experience (line 4). She seems aware of being able to stand outside herself from a 
more objective perspective (line 6) as if feeling the emotions the previous week has enabled her 
to do this. She seems to feel very good on leaving (line 8) the session and with question marks 
and an exclamation she seems to wonder is she is returning to what she terms normality. Perhaps 
she is finding more of her self and recognising this self which makes her feel, in her terminology, 

---

379 
more normal. She is also aware of some uncertainty alongside feelings of excitement which 
seems to confirm this sense of her being more in touch with herself.