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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Transactional analysis was originally developed by the late Eric Berne (1961), who was trained as a Freudian psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. TA evolved out of Bernes dissatisfaction with the slowness of psychoanalysis in curing people of their problems. Bernes major objections to psychoanalysis were that it was time consuming, complex, and poorly communicated to clients. Historically, TA developed as an extension of psychoanalysis with concepts and techniques especially designed for group treatment. Berne discovered that by using TA his clients were making significant changes in their lives. As his theory of personality evolved, Berne parted ways with psychoanalysis to devote himself full time to the theory and practice of TA.
The second phase (1962-1966) focused on transactions and games. It was during this period that TA became popular because of its straightforward vocabulary and because people could recognize their own games.
The third phase (1966-1970) gave attention to life scripts and script analysis. A life script is an internal plan that determines the direction of ones life.
The fourth phase (1970 to the present) is characterized by the incorporation of new techniques into TA practice (such as those from the encounter group movement, Gestalt therapy, and psychodrama).
Transactional Analysis
A model for explaining why and how: People think like they do People act like they do People interact/communicate with others Based on published psychological work such as: Games People Play (Dr. Eric Berne) Im OK - - Youre OK (Dr. Tom Harris) Born to Win (Dr. Dorothy Jongeward)
EGO STATE
is a set of related thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in which part of an individuals personality is manifested at a given time. (Stewart & Joines, 1987)
Ego Portraits
People have favorite, preferred ego state, depicted by larger circle in a diagram Parent Adult Child
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Classification of Strokes
Conditional strokes say I will like you if and when you are a certain way; they are received for doing something. Unconditional strokes say I am willing to accept you for who you are and for being who you are, and we can negotiate our differences.
Positive strokes say I like you, and they may be expressed by warm physical touches, accepting words, appreciation, a smile, and friendly gestures. These strokes are necessary for the development of psychologically healthy people.
Negative strokes say I dont like you, and they too can be expressed both verbally and nonverbally. Interestingly, negative strokes are considered preferable to no strokes at all that is, to being ignored.
TA theory pays attention to how people structure their time to get strokes. It also looks at the life plan of individuals to determine what kind of strokes they both get and give. According to TA, it behooves us to become aware of the strokes we survive on, the strokes that we both ask for and receive, and the strokes that we give to others.
Lifescripts
Or plan for life. A personal lifescript is an unconscious life plan made in childhood, reinforced by the parents, justified by subsequent events, and culminating in a chosen alternative (Stewart & Joines, 1987). This script, as we have seen, is developed early in life as a result of parental teaching (such as injunctions and counterinjunctions) and the early decisions we make. Among these decisions is selecting the basic psychological position, or dramatic role, that we play in our lifescript. Indeed, lifescripts are comparable to a dramatic stage production, with a cast of characters, a plot, scenes, dialogues, and endless rehearsals. In essence, the lifescript is a blueprint that tells people where they are going in life and what they will do when they arrive.
A transaction = any interaction or communication between 2 people. People send and receive messages out of and into their different ego states How people say something (what others hear?) just as important as what is said Types of communication, interactions
1) Complementary 2) Crossed 3) Ulterior
Transactional Analysis
To analyze a transaction you need to see and feel what is being said as well. Only 7% of meaning is in the words spoken. 38% of meaning is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said). 55% is in facial expression.
Kinds of Transactions
Transactional analysis - Transactions between people are seen as having 3 levels: Complementary both people are operating from the same ego state Crossed the other person reacts from an unexpected ego state Ulterior two ego states within the same person but one disguises the other
Complementary Transactions
Interactions, responses, actions regarded as appropriate and expected from another person. Parallel communication arrows, communication continues. Example 1: #1 What time do you have? #2 Ive got 11:15.
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Crossed Transactions
Interactions, responses, actions NOT regarded as appropriate or expected from another person. Crossed communication arrows, communication breakdown. #1 #2
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Example 1
What time do you have? Theres a clock on the wall, why dont you figure it out yourself?
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Ulterior Transactions
Interactions, responses, actions which are different from those explicitly stated
Example #1 How about coming up to my room and listening to some music?
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Structuring Mode - This is the boundary setting Mode, offering constructive criticism. In this Mode we are caring whilst firm. Supporting Mode - When in this Mode we are affirming and considerate. Co-creating Mode - From this Mode we develop ways to help us live and work with others. Playful Mode - This is the creative, fun loving, curious and energetic Mode. We can confront people playfully as a way of dealing with a difficult situation. This can diffuse a potential problem and get the message across.
Four methods of understanding & predicting human behavior: Structural analysis within the person Transactional analysis 2 or more people Game analysis understanding transactions that lead to bad feelings Script analysis understand a persons life plan
Structural analysis
is a tool by which a person becomes aware of the content and functioning of his or her Parent, Adult, and Child. TA clients learn how to identify their own ego states. Structural analysis helps them resolve patterns that they feel stuck with. It allows them to find out which ego state their behavior is based on. With that knowledge they can determine their options.
Structural analysis
Two problems related to the structure of personality can be considered by structural analysis: contamination and exclusion.
Contamination exists when the contents of one ego state are mixed with those of another.
Parent Contamination
Child Contamination
Double Contamination
Game analysis
Game analysis - ulteriorly motivated transactions that appear complimentary on the surface but end in bad feelings: 1st Degree games minor upset, played socially end up with minor discomfort 2nd Degree games more intimate end up w/bad feelings 3rd Degree games - usually involve physical injury
Here are some of the most commonly found themes of games described in Games People Play by Eric Berne: YDYB: Why Don't You, Yes But. Historically, the first game discovered. IFWY: If It Weren't For You WAHM: Why does this Always Happen to Me? (setting up a selffulfilling prophecy) SWYMD: See What You Made Me Do UGMIT: You Got Me Into This LHIT: Look How Hard I've Tried ITHY: I'm Only Trying to Help You LYAHF: Let's You and Him Fight (staging a love triangle)
Typical Games
Between A shop keeper and a house wife: This one is better, but you cannot afford it Between A Teacher and a Student: This is a good topic, but you cannot handle it. Between an Expert and a Candidate: What you just said is totally wrong
Script analysis
Everyone develops a life script by age 5 & these scripts determine how one interacts with others based upon the interpretation of external events. A negative life script occurs when the person receives lots of injunctions by the parents that used the word DONT.
Script analysis
Common negative life scripts: Never one never gets to do what one wants Until one must wait until a certain time or until something is done to be able to do something they want to do Always one must continue to do what one has always done
Script analysis
After a difficulty is expected after a certain event Open-ended one does not know what to do after a given time Mini-scripts: Hurry up! Try harder! Be perfect! Be strong! Please someone! These drivers allow for temporary escape from life scripts.
THERAPEUTIC GOALS
To help clients make new decisions about their current behavior and the direction of their lives. Being a catalyst to enable clients to mobilize their efforts. Helping clients obtain a friendly divorce from their parents. Helping clients break through a series of impasses that stem from injunctions and early decisions.
The counselors real job is to allow clients to find their own power.
SUMMARY
Transactional analysis is grounded on the assumption that we make current decisions based on past premisespremises that were at one time appropriate to our survival needs but that may no longer be valid. TA emphasizes the cognitive, rational, and behavioral aspects of the therapeutic process. More specifically, it stresses the capacity of the person to change decisions and is oriented toward increasing awareness with the goal of enabling people to make new decisions and thereby alter their existence. To achieve this goal, TA clients learn how to recognize the three ego states (Parent, Adult, and Child) in which they function. They also learn how their current behavior is affected by the rules they received and incorporated as children and how they can identify the lifescript that determines their actions. Early in life each of us fashions a script that we carry out, usually without awareness.
SUMMARY
TA emphasizes that as children we reacted to environmental stresses, received injunctions, and then made early decisions about self and others based on such messages. Such basic decisions show up in our current ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. TA therapists encourage clients to recall and re-experience situations in childhood where faulty learning originated. Ultimately, clients come to realize that they have the power to re-decide and initiate a new direction in life and that they can change what is not working while retaining what serves them well.
SUMMARY
TA therapists are guided in their work by the contracts their clients develop with them. In carrying out this therapeutic work, counselors can employ a variety of procedures. Some of these are structural analysis, transactional analysis, role playing, family modeling, analysis of games and rackets, teaching, and script analysis. TAs concepts and techniques can be adapted to individual, group, marital, and family therapy. They can also be applied to a wide range of clients.
Key Concept
Transactional Analysis is effectively a language within a language; a language of true meaning, feeling and motive. It can help you in every situation, firstly through being able to understand more clearly what is going on, and secondly, by virtue of this knowledge, we give ourselves choices of what ego states to adopt, which signals to send, and where to send them. This enables us to make the most of all our communications and therefore create, develop and maintain better relationships.