Clients‟ experience of counselling within a narrative framework

 
OVER CONTAINED - OVER FREE POLARITY 
 
This polarity is an internal state of agitation that may affect the physical body and the external 
world as racing thoughts affect judgements and physical movement. It could be described as 
emotional hyperventilating, a kind of suffocating of the self and one‟s own feelings. 
 
OVERCONTAINED 
 
Hiccups could be the physiological metaphor for overcontained in that with hiccups a person 
seems to be unable to control their body and the overcontained client does not seem to have 
control of their own emotions. However, unlike uncontained where there is no movement or 
process, overcontained does have movement within but it is as if it is not owned or does not 
belong to the client in that it appears to be out of his/her control. The overcontained client is full 
of other people‟s thoughts and feelings rather than their own. The movement caused by this then 
is an attempt to get rid of the unwanted (Steiner, 1993) thoughts and feelings while at the same 
time feeling restrained from doing this. Like hiccups which is caused by the involuntary 
contraction of the diaphragm while the glottis is spasmodically closed, it is as if the psyche 
contracts in the hope of expelling what does not belong to it while the insecure self 
spasmodically shuts itself down in deference to others‟ perceptions. The „compliant‟ client who 
constantly tries to please everyone else including the counsellor would feel „at home in‟ this 
category.
OVERFREE 
This polarity of overcontained also has movement within it. Overfree is the panic or hysteria 
which causes a rush of thoughts or feelings exhibited in movement which cannot settle. Such 
rushing around is also destructive as it closes down the possibility of rational thought or action. 
There is a sense of feeling beyond help in the chaos of such hyper activity. Perhaps obsessive –
compulsive disorders could be seen as a state where the client is almost completely taken over by 
this polarity as the client‟s attention seems solely taken up with the compulsive activity that 
relegates the underlying affect beyond reach. 
If these states can be brought into awareness and experienced within the containment provided 
by the counsellor then the individual may find the freedom which enables these aspects of 
themselves to begin the process of change.