Clients‟ experience of counselling within a narrative framework

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Beauty and the Beast: 
Clients‟ experience of counselling within a narrative framework, 
considering concepts of containment and freedom. 
Christina Bracegirdle 
THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF 
THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE
FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPY 
The programme of research was carried out in the Department of Social, 
Community and Health Studies, Faculty of Health and Human Sciences
SEPTEMBER 2007

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ABSTRACT 
The experience of opposition between what could be contained in my internal world, and what I 
wanted freedom from containing while a client in counselling led to the conception of this 
research. Containment and freedom seemed to form a polarity (Jung 1961; 1969) in that each 
notion became as necessary as the other. Clients who became participants were in counselling 
with other counsellors and were asked to keep journals on their thoughts and feelings after 
counselling sessions and these formed the data for the study. My interest in poetry guided this 
process as the journals were created by short phrases forming each line and this seemed to 
influence the writing and analytic process. The journals produced by the participants encouraged 
the original heuristic (Moustakas 1990) design to surrender the richness that was hidden within it 
as it became a narrative inquiry. Containment, freedom and the possible polarity between them 
are investigated as constructs of emotional opposition experienced by the client. The construct 
and categories which emerge from the data suggest aspects of containment and freedom that 
demonstrate how emotional movement may occur within the participants through the opposition 
between containment and freedom. The data also seems to image established theory within the 
journal stories. A relationship between poetry and the counselling experience is drawn together 
within the research process as the unconscious and the use of metaphor seem to elicit the 
discovery of the self. My experiences of personal life events that impact upon the study are held 
alongside the project as such experiences and the research develop my voice which is relevant to 
the process and outcome of the work.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 
This thesis could not have been realized without the continued support of my supervisors 
Professor Helen Payne, and Dr Tim Parke. I am particularly grateful for the encouragement 
offered by Helen and Tim when I have struggled to continue with the work. The University of 
Hertfordshire has been understanding of the absences I have needed and the administrative staff 
have been helpful at these times. I am also particularly grateful to the continued effort, time, and 
resources contributed by all those who became participants for the study.

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This thesis 
is dedicated to the memory of: 
my beautiful sister 
Pamela Anne 
1962 -1996 
And her eldest son 
who became one of my precious boys 
Iain Robert 
1985-2006 

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CONTENTS 
ABSTRACT 
2 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 
3
 
CHAPTER ONE:THE VOICE OF THE PRESENT 
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1.1 Introduction 10 
1.2 The preconception of the concepts 11 
1.3 My story 12 
1.3.1 Containment, freedom and opposition 13 
1.3.2 Reflexivity 16 
1.3.3 Shock 17 
1.3.4 Anguish 18