Clients‟ experience of counselling within a narrative framework

containment of being loved, and the 
freedom of being loved for who she is as 
opposed to being loved for what she has 
or has not achieved. Lines 6-9 

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This original journal analysis demonstrates the desire for containment freedom in lines 1-2 and 
7-9. The words both hide and demonstrate the participant‟s wish to take care of herself (lines 1-
2) and even love herself (line 7-9), in that she hides her desires for herself in the care she wants 
to have for others, like Beauty. By changing from the first person singular in the first two 
sections to the first person plural in the last section, she emphasises this desire for herself. When 
she writes in the first person singular she is referring clearly to others but in the last section she 
incorporates herself into what she is saying, which enables the reader to see behind her care for 
others and realize that the anguish of others images her own anguish. When this section was first 
analysed the lines 3-6 were put into the category of fighting containment-freedom. Now I would 
change this and put the whole entry in the desire for containment-freedom. Her wish that others 
should not suffer mirrors her own suffering and her hidden desire to allow herself to feel her own 
affect. Here she seems to recognize her anguish but does not appear to feel it. I felt my anguish 
(chapter 1) and cared for myself which enabled me to be more sensitive to others‟ anguish. But 
here the participant still needs to feel her anguish so that she can care for herself appropriately.
4.3.5. Towards containment freedom 
This category was created from words that suggest movement towards the participants 
experiencing their own feelings (as in the meeting of Beauty and the Beast) and becoming aware 
of parts of themselves that had been hidden from awareness, or split off. They are feeling 
descriptive words that also suggest movement (see table vi below):

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Table vi. To show words suggestive of emotional movement.
Frightened
Sad
Uncoiling
Deeper happiness 
Lonely
Something clicked 
Free flowing 
Weeping
Burning tears 
Hurt
Outpouring
Daring to voice it 
Wake up call 
Awkward 
Too tired to pretend 
Pain
Feel like a little girl 
Trusted myself 
Shame
Embarrassment
Oh sod it 
This was a difficult category to pin down in this first study but there was enough of a sense of it 
being present to keep it rather than discard it. It was a felt sense of the participants letting go of 
overcontained parts of themselves and becoming aware of, and feeling their own affect. In 
theoretical terms the clients were shifting away from negative or damaging internal objects to 
internalising a more cohesive sense of self through the interaction within the counselling 
relationship. Perhaps participants‟ interaction with themselves in their journal writing also 
contributed to their emotional movement as can be seen on the extract below:

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Extract 6. Journal entry to show the category of towards containment-freedom 
Lines Words from the journal Analysis 
1. justified 
2. understood 
3. fearful 
4. tearful 
5. weak 
6. stupid 
7. in touch with myself 
8. able 
9. hopeful 
10. Empowered 
This section starts with the client