“WHO AM I ?” Week 1. Line 1.
Co. made me aware I was
Line 2.
checking her out - need for safety.
Line 3.
Felt OK / “what‟s wrong with me?” (thoughts)
Line 4.
Felt listened to, valued.
Line 5.
Pain of experience of bad Co. +
Line 6.
college. “let it go!” - difficult
This appears like a first or early session in that the client feels that she is made aware by her
counsellor that she is checking her out (lines 1,2). She then seems to state that she has a need for
safety and the fact that she appears to have had a bad experience with a counsellor (line 5) make
this feel crucial. Although she says that she felt okay (line 3), perhaps about being made aware of
what she was doing, she then wonders what is wrong with her. She asks herself the question
using speech marks and putting the word „thoughts‟ in brackets. She seems to want the reader to
know that these are thoughts (line 3) as opposed to being part of the counselling session. It feels
a very important question as if she feels that there is something very wrong with her and perhaps
it feels safer to ask the question in the journal than risk saying these thoughts to the counsellor.
But perhaps this question also suggests the client‟s present condition in that she sees herself as
having something wrong with her. It also seems that there is some pain connected to her college
counselling course (line 6) which is similar to the experience with the „bad‟ counsellor as she
puts these together. She tells herself, using speech marks, to „let it go‟ as if she wants to be rid of
the memory and the pain but she also replies to herself by stating that it is „difficult‟. However in
this session she seems to have felt listened to and valued (line 4). But she connects valued to the
line about the bad counsellor with an arrow as if she is marking or pointing out the difference.
There is a strong sense of the client‟s vulnerability, and she feels very cautious. Perhaps she is
checking out writing the journal as well as the counsellor.