Clients‟ experience of counselling within a narrative framework

 
6.3.4. Action + reflection 
This set notes how the participants recounted an action that they had made and then reflected 
upon it. It seems to demonstrate their thoughtfulness and the care they took in keeping the 
journals. Again the journals can be seen as personal narratives of the counselling journey. In 
week 4, Turned On writes:
Extract 25. From a journal to show action and reflection.
Line 1.
This is my second week
Line 2.
without counselling and I
Line 3.
have mixed feelings about
Line 4.
it, I have survived on my
Line 5.
own and have not felt
Line 6.
too alone this week but a
Line 7.
little sad because I am
Line 8.
finding it difficult to
Line 9.
talk about how I feel
Line 10.
with anyone who is not
Line 11.
having help themselves 
Line 12.
I‟m losing touch with
Line 13.
them really don‟t feel
Line 14.
too bothered about it but
Line 15.
I suppose this makes me
Line 16.
do more work on me
Line 17.
and work things through
Line 18.
for myself, but not too

---

159 
Line 19
sure that the end results
Line 20.
are correct. But I will
Line 21.
learn the hard way if
Line 22.
not! 
The actions reported are how she had survived her second week without counselling and the 
difficulty she had in talking to anyone who was not having counselling themselves. These 
actions and reflections are included in the analysis: 
Extract 26. From analysis to show action and reflection. 
The second week without counselling (line 1,2) seems to make the client very thoughtful, 
reflexive as she moves in and out of feelings and actions and examines them. She has mixed 
feelings (line 3) which seems different to the confusion of previous entries as if she is managing 
to think and write more clearly. She appears to realize that she has survived the break on her own 
but seems aware that she feels further away from others who do not have help (line11), 
counselling, and who she struggles to talk to about her feelings (line 9). Although she feels that 
she is losing touch (line 12) with these others she also states that she is not too bothered about it 
(line 14) as if at this time she has some sense of the importance of working on herself (line16), 
without the intrusive opinions of others. Being more alone appears to help her work things 
through (line17) even though she is not too sure about the end results (line 19) of this working 
though being correct (line 20). She seems to suggest that if she is not doing this correctly that she 
will learn the hard way (line 21) as if there is an expectation that learning will be hard for her in 
the sense that she perhaps feels that she has always done things wrong or even felt wrong in who 
she is. Perhaps this being so „hard‟ for her also describes her present condition in that this is a 
hard road for her to travel. It also feels important for her to get things right, „correct‟, as if 
making a mistake or getting something wrong really matters to her. But she is also definite, even 
affirmative for she „will‟ learn (line 20). There seems to be no room for self doubt here, she 
seems very determined as if the reflection on herself is exhorting herself to learn. 

---

160 
In reflecting on the break from counselling the participant seems enabled to think about her 
sadness at losing touch with friends. But she is also able to think about the process of working 
through such feelings even though she is unsure about the outcome of this process. The action of 
recognizing the loss of the counselling in a break, where she chooses to keep the journal, seems 
to create this reflexive dialogue with herself. Just as I wrote out trauma in the safety of my poetry 
so it seems possible that the journal became the container, or safe place, where the participant is 
able to write her thoughts and feelings. This then may be seen as part of the action and reflection 
in that the action of recognizing the loss of the counselling session is recorded by another action, 
writing, and seems to enable her to be reflexive.