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formed a picture of the participant‟s internal world, or feeling state at the time of writing. The
power of words appears to be drawn out in the images that were created. This seems to display
the importance of the way the participants were asked to write with
just a few words on each
line. Their feelings appear to be condensed and highlighted by this process. The images created
in the journals were often powerful in that they appeared to image aspects of the participant‟s
internal world. The following extract from a journal demonstrates a powerful image:
Extract 20. From WAI journal W2 to illustrate a powerful image.
Line 1.
Felt good, valued,
Line 2.
embarrassed to be me.
Line 3.
Working on „stuckness‟.
Line 4.
Adult self - taking care of
Line 5.
child - pain, vulnerability
Line 6.
“frozen child” - pain + trauma.
Line 7.
Re-experiencing above -
Line 8.
need
to find way of making it
Line 9.
OK, appropriate / liveable.
Line 10.
Recognition of loss in childhood
Line 11.
Co. feels good, real, not a book – human
In the following extract from the analysis I look at what the image/metaphor of “frozen child”
suggests about the participant‟s present condition:
Extract 21. From the analysis to show the clients present condition.
The client suggests that her adult self (line 4) takes care of her child (line 5) self and describes
her child self as a „frozen child‟. This is a powerful image and surrounded by the words of pain,
vulnerability and trauma suggesting the image of a child who is unable
to move as well being
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filled with emotive experiences. She is frozen, which is perhaps her present condition, cold as if
she is unloved and possibly may struggle to feel the warmth of love. Part of her is perhaps still
this frozen child. She appears to have re-experienced (line 7) some of her childhood feelings in
the session and says that she needs to find a way of making the past okay, appropriate and
liveable (lines 8,9). It feels as if the past was none of these things and perhaps the agony is that
she cannot change the past and make it better.
Such images in the journals help to tell the story of the participant during this recording of their
counselling experience. This frozen child seems to thaw out during
the process of counselling
and find out more about who she is and what she feels as she appears to access and take
possession of her own feelings.
6.3.2.Questions
All the participants ask themselves questions in their journals and these seem to suggest what it
is they want to do next. This is made clear when the outcome of a question is found. In week
fifteen of her journal Wriggling fish writes:
Extract 22. From WF to show the impact of questions.
Line 1.
Why was I angry as a child?
Line 2.
I found out!
Line 3.
Why do I need old patterns?
Line 4.
The time flew.
Line 5.
It
feels safe and supported
Line 6.
I have freedom but no containment.
Line 7.
in my life.
Line 8.
I need to find a balance.
Line 9.
And not struggle so!
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The question which asks why she was an angry child (line 1) appears to be answered
immediately for she says she found out. She appears to feel that she has freedom but no
containment (line 6), so perhaps as a child and as an adult she feels that there is something that
she is unable to contain or own about herself. The real answer to the question seems to begin to
show
itself in the next entry, week sixteen (below), for Wriggling Fish begins to experience
overwhelming (line 3) feelings, even speak feelings which appear to be new for her for she also
says that she is learning (line 6) to do this:
Extract 23. From WF to show a response to a question.
Line 1.
Gut wrenching tears!!
Line 2.
Two minutes yesterday
Line 3.
Overwhelming today.
Line 4.
I hated myself
Line 5.
Tissues, pillows
Line 6.
Learning to
speak feelings
Line 7.
And feel it is
OK!!
Line 8.
Safe, trust, supported.
Line 9.
A smile.
Rather than only knowing where her feelings of anger come from, as in the previous entry, the
participant seems to experience feeling. It seems that her anger has been hiding sadness which
appears to be experienced during the session she writes about. Questions
appear to move the
participants forward as if enabling them to move internally. In this way the journals seemed to
have enabled them to be reflexive about their counselling and themselves as if writing added
awareness to their process.