Clients‟ experience of counselling within a narrative framework

CHAPTER FIVE 
THE THEORETICAL CONSTRUCT 
5.1 Introduction 
In this chapter the polarity between containment and freedom is examined as the tension or 
opposition that holds the two concepts together while keeping them apart. Each of the categories 
that emerged is explored with reference to the participants‟ journals from which they emerged. 
They are perceived as places along a continuum (p.122) where no one state is better than another 
as each are seen as necessary parts of the whole.
The notion of a containment freedom polarity may have emerged from my personal experience 
as a counsellor and client but the key words were developed from the pilot study. Although six 
categories emerged from the pilot study the category containment-freedom became the overall 
structure (p.126) that held the other categories leaving the following five categories. 
1. Uncontained-unfree 
2. Overcontained-overfree 
3. Fighting containment-freedom 
4. Desire for containment-freedom 
5. Towards containment-freedom 

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The Containment-Freedom Continuum 1 
Towards containment overcontained overfree
towards freedom 
desire for containment uncontained desire 
for freedom
_______________ _______________ ______________ _____ 
the axis______ ____________ ______________ ___________________
Containment
Freedom 
Unfree
The axis demonstrates the point of no movement, where the client may feel stuck but may also 
be able to look around their internal world. Containment and freedom at either end of the 
continuum show that each stage may be an integral part of movement, as if to reach one it may 
be necessary to pass through other categories.

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As the analysis of the following main study progressed, an overlap between three categories 
became visible and there was a need to re-examine their contents. The overlaps were between 
containment-freedom, towards containment-freedom and the desire for containment-freedom. 
These changes occurred through close engagement with the journal narratives and the realization 
that a visible structure might provide greater understanding of the notion of a containment-
freedom polarity.
5.2 The analysis 
During the analysis of the pilot study the categories were highlighted in the text with colour and 
every line that appeared to hold a category was highlighted in the chosen colour (appendix 13). 
Lines that did not appear to hold a category were left with no highlighting. However in the main 
study the journal entries covered a much greater period of time and looking for categories line by 
line felt unwieldy and too intense. It seemed appropriate to spend more time interpreting the text 
before searching for the constructs, particularly as I was struggling to re-engage with the work 
after an enforced break. As time gave space for reconsidering the pilot study it felt that each 
journal entry held one main category alongside others. For example in the following entry from 
the pilot study lines were initially put into categories: 

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Extract 7. To show how the pilot journals were categorized 
Lines from a journal Categoreies
Line 1
. Nervous 
Overcontained-overfree
Line 2
. Held 
Desire for containment-freedom 
Line 3
. Sad 
Containment- freedom 
Line 4.
Deeply sad 
Containment-freedom 
Line 5.
Tearful 
Containment-freedom 
Line 6.
Held
Containment-freedom 
Line 7.
Enlightened 
Containment-freedom 
Line 8.
Hopeful
Containment-freedom 
Line 9.
Fear (can I handle it) 
Overcontained-overfree 
Line 10. 
Fear (can she handle it) 
Overcontained-overfree 
Line 11. 
Re-assured
Desire for containment-freedom 
Line 12. 
Held
Containment-freedom 
Line 13. 
Free to be myself 
Containment-freedom
In light of the learning from the main study this entry would now be put into one overall 
category, desire for containment-freedom. My new understanding of the categories would 
change lines 1, 9 and 10 into the category of desire for containment-freedom. There is a wish to 
be the same as the counsellor in line 9 and 10 and a nervous feeling towards her in line 1. These 
lines no longer fit within their initial category as the understanding of overcontained-overfree has

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been more clearly defined. Also lines that were given the category of containment-freedom 
would have to change as this is now the overall structure. In fact these lines also fit the category 
of desire for containment-freedom which has also been more clearly defined. The pilot study 
provided a starting point for the categories but they have been altered through the process of the 
work. The above example shows the overlap that occurred through categories which enabled the 
formation of the overall structure. It also demonstrates the possibility of using one overall 
category for each journal entry. This need not exclude the possibility of other categories being 
present, for they may be within each other. This led to searching for one main category for each 
journal entry in the main study and omitting the highlighting. Although more than one category 
may be present in an entry it no longer felt essential to be so precise when working with such a 
large volume of narrative. There was also a sense that the existence of the categories felt more 
real and I was no longer working to prove something to myself which had been part of the pilot 
study. My comprehension of the categories was clearer through the familiarity gained from 
working with the journal texts over long periods of time.

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