Clients‟ experience of counselling within a narrative framework

Construct: uncontained - unfree 
This is an interesting entry for although the client comments on how she is changing she also 
seems very aware that part of her is stuck, paralysed. Yet perhaps the experience of this fixed 
point of no movement enables her to view the changes that she is attempting to make and her 
responses to those changes. It is as if, by being unfree or stuck that she is giving herself the 
freedom to see for herself. 
 
Week 23. 
Line 1.
How I do things just in case 
Line 2.
in order to achieve satisfactory 
Line 3.
ending. Does not happen. 
Line 4.
Inconsistency 
Line 5.
Ability to allow self to be 
Line 6.
fooled „next time the outcome 
Line 7.
may be different‟. 
Line 8.
Good session felt awful at

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374 
Line 9.
beginning, good + manageable 
Line 10.
at end ! 
It seems that she asks (previous week) and does things just in case (line 1) in order to achieve the 
outcomes that are satisfactory (line 2) to her. So perhaps not only does she take responsibility 
from others but maybe she is also quite controlling of them. But it seems she is realizing that 
even when she tries to control situations, the outcomes do not happen (line 3) as she intends. It 
appears she feels the inconsistency (line 4) of this as if she wakes up to the possibility that she 
fools (line 6) herself. She appears to tell herself that the outcome will be different next time 
(lines 6,7) and this is how she fools herself. Although the session she is recalling felt awful at the 
beginning (lines 8,9) she is able to see that it was a good session (line 8), perhaps because she 
has realized how she fools herself.. Maybe the session felt good and manageable at the end (lines 
9,10) because she was being real with herself and no longer fooling herself. Perhaps she has even 
been taking responsibility from the counsellor during sessions and in this one she was able to 
listen and take in what was happening between them.