Clients‟ experience of counselling within a narrative framework

Construct: towards containment - freedom 
The strength of the client‟s reactions in the entry suggest spontaneous feelings to what happened 
at college even if she was unable to voice these at the time. She seems to be on the side of the 
frozen child who could not get up and walk out. Perhaps she is beginning to contain this child 
self rather than freezing her out of existence. It seems that she is finding the freedom to feel her 
own affect even when this may be different from what is expressed by the group.
 
Week 8. 
Line 1.
Felt validated, understood + much return to 
Line 2.
normal functioning, still v. fragile inside. 
Line 3.
Not good at taking care of self, saying „no‟. 
Line 4.
Feeling wounded + hollow inside. 
Line 5.
Determined, frustrated „have the right 
Line 6.
to speak‟, but aware ignored. 
Line 7.
Pain. 
Line 8.
Recognition of own strength. 
Line 9.
Some peers in awe. Difficult to believe. 
Line 10.
Shock - pain - anger. 
Line 11.
Take huge risks, play by the rules. 

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The client seems to feel validated and understood (line 1) as if she needs this from the 
counsellor, in that she needs to be given this by an external other for perhaps she is unable to do 
this for herself. She seems to feel that she has returned to functioning normally (line 2) as if the 
process of counselling has been affecting her everyday life. But she still feels very fragile inside 
(line 2) as if the abused part of her is more aware of her vulnerability. She seems to recognize 
that she is not good at taking care of herself by saying „no‟ (line 3) to others as if she takes on too 
much and tires herself. She then appears to return to her internal state as she feel wounded and 
hollow inside (line 4) which creates a powerful image. It is as if she is describing her internal 
condition and is more aware of the damage that has been done to her through the abuse. Yet 
there is a strength, for she seems determined yet also frustrated for she senses that she has the 
right to speak (line 6) as if the child within is beginning to find her voice. But at the same time 
she appears to feel ignored as if the child who was so isolated is unable to make herself heard. 
„Pain‟ (line 7) stands alone as if it needs to be recognized and registered both by her and perhaps 
the reader, and the lack of words around it makes it stand out as something too enormous to 
portray in any other way. She then seems to have a sense of her own strength (line 8) which is 
followed by her peers being in awe (line 9) of her as if she has shared some of her experiences 
with them and been heard and acknowledged. In recounting this action of sharing she is able to 
reflect on it. She finds their awe difficult to believe (line 9) as if this a new experience, and 
perhaps this confirms that she has been heard and is finding her voice, or even shifting from her 
frozen state. This is followed by shock - pain - anger (line10) which suggests that she may have 
found the appropriate feelings for her abused self. Perhaps taking huge risks is where she is at 
the moment as if she is doing this in her counselling, in her counsellor training and in the journal, 
as if she is taking the risk of speaking to see if she is heard. At the same time she appears to state 
the opposite as she says that she is playing by the rules (line 10). Perhaps she is playing by the 
rules, as if she is testing the whole idea of counselling to see if it works, to see if taking risks 
enables her to find out more about herself. The adjectives in this entry are all emotive and 
suggestive of actions as if she is describing her condition in regard to counselling and training, 
and also suggest that she is using both to take care of herself more appropriately.