Transactional Analysis 023

Transactional analysis is a talking therapy and sessions are designed to explore an individual's
personality and how this has been shaped by experience - particularly those stemming from
childhood. This is achieved through skillful questioning and the utilization of various models,
techniques and tools. In therapy, transactional analysis can be used to address one's interactions and
communications with the purpose of establishing and reinforcing the idea that each individual is
valuable and has the capacity for positive change and personal growth.
DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS

Dr. Eric Berne developed transactional analysis in the last 1950s, using “transaction” to
describe the fundamental unit of social intercourse, with “transactional analysis” being the study
of social interactions between individuals. His influences included contemporaries such as René
Spitz, Erik Erikson, Paul Federn, Edoardo Weiss, as well as Freud and Wilder Penfield, a
Canadian neurosurgeon.
Sessions can be carried out in the form of one-on-one counselling, with families, couples
or groups. And, while it's commonly recognised as a brief and solution-focused approach,
transactional analysis can also be applied as an effective long-term therapy.In counselling, TA
therapy is very versatile, for it can be used in a wide range of areas and incorporates key themes
from humanistic, integrative and psychoanalytical and psychodynamic therapies.
In this setting, the therapist works collaboratively with the individual. Together, they will
identify what has gone wrong in the client’s communication and provide opportunities for them
to change repetitive patterns that limit their potential.TA has been successfully applied in a wide
variety of settings outside of counselling, including organisational training and consultancy,
parenting, education and coaching.
Essentially, transactional analysis can be used in any field where there is a need for
understanding of individuals, communication and relationships. As a result, it is particularly
useful where there are issues of conflict, confusion or where something is lacking. Relationship
issues - between families, friends and couples - tend to benefit greatly, as TA encourages clients
to address problems that have built up over time.
One of the exciting things about transactional analysis is the simple models and
language it employs, which help you to understand why you have become who you are today and
how (and in what ways) you relate to other people.
Unconscious scripts
TA therapists recognise that we all have the potential to live the life we want, rather than
the life we are programmed to live. Sometimes, however, this potential is hindered by repetitive
patterns or 'unconscious scripts' that stem from childhood decisions and teachings.
TA therapists use script theory to identify these unconscious scripts. These will be
analysed using the ego-state model, and their identification is crucial to helping clients realise
how certain permissions and prohibitions they received as a child are impacting their lives and
how they communicate.
These unconscious scripts often exist as repetitive patterns of behaviour, thoughts and
feelings - characteristics that suggest the child ego-state is overbearing and tainting other parts of
an individual's personality.
Examining the Ego States of Transactional Analysis
Like Freud, Berne posited that each individual possesses three ego states. His ego states
—the Parent, the Adult, and the Child—do not directly correspond to Freud’s Id, Ego, and
Superego, however. Instead, these states represent an individual’s internal model of parents,
adults, and children. An individual may assume any of these roles in transactions with another
person or in internal conversation. These roles are not directly associated with their typical
English definitions but can be described as follows:
Parent consists of recordings of external events observed and experienced by a child from birth
through approximately the first five years of life. These recordings are not filtered or analyzed by
the child; they are simply accepted without question. Many of these external events are likely to
involve the individual’s parents or other adults in parent-link roles, which led Berne to call this
ego state “the Parent.” Examples of external events recorded in this state:
 Do not play with matches.
 Remember to say “please” and “thank you.”
 Do not speak to strangers.
Child represents all brain recordings of internal events (feelings or emotions) that are directly
linked to the external events observed by the child during the first five years of life. Examples of
events recorded in this state may include:
 I feel happy when Mom hugs me.
 Dad’s late night movie was very scary.
 I feel sad when Mom is sad.
Adult, the final ego state, is the period in which a child develops the capacity to perceive and
understand situations that are different from what is observed (Parent) or felt (Child). The Adult
serves as a data processing center that utilizes information from all three ego states in order to
arrive at a decision. One important role of the Adult is to validate data which is stored in the
Parent:
 I see that Suzie’s house was burnt down. Mom was right—I should not play with
matches.
Transactions
When individuals communicate, their ego-states interact to create transactions. If the ego-
states interact and blend in a healthy way, transactions tend to be healthier. But, sometimes ego-
states can contaminate each other to create a distorted view of the world. Transactions may be
classified as straightforward, crossed-up, or ulterior, and understanding these is key to conflict
resolution.
Strokes
Strokes refer to compliments, acceptance and recognition, which are influential in how
people lead their lives. TA therapy recognises that we are greatly motivated by the reinforcement
we get as children, and if this was dysfunctional, we are likely to adopt dysfunctional patterns of
living as we get older. From Berne’s perspective, the adversely affected children in Spitz’s
studies exhibited physical and emotional deficits due to a lack of strokes. Berne applied this
theory to adults, theorizing that men and women also experience recognition-hunger and a
need for strokes. However, while infants may desire strokes that are primarily physical, an
adult may be contented with other forms of recognition, such as nods, winks, or
smilesWhile strokes may be positive or negative, Berne theorized that it is better to receive
a negative stroke than no stroke at all. When one person asks another out on a date, for
example, and receives a flat refusal, that person may find the refusal to be less damaging
than a complete lack of acknowledgment .
Intimacy
Another motivation recognised in transactional analysis is intimacy. Similarly to strokes,

if the intimacy a child experiences is dysfunctional, it can lead to problems. Children may learn
that this type of intimacy is the best that they can do to meet basic needs and communicate with
others. This can lead to the development of repetitive patterns of behaviour that can hinder a
person's potential.
Redecision
This is the individual's capacity to ‘redecide’ and make changes to certain decisions that
were made as a child - those stemming from unconscious scripts. Redecision reflects the
assumption of TA that individuals have the potential to lead their lives as they choose. This
power is released after a redecision is made while a client is in their child-ego state.
Ultimately, therapists will encourage clients to challenge their current beliefs and the way he or
she uses their life script. This will help them to better understand the direction and patterns of
their life for themselves, and this awareness can help them to make the decision to change their
behaviour.
The beauty of the model is that people intuitively understand the concepts very quickly and
accurately discuss which ego-state they may have been in at given times.
https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/transactional-
analysis.html#keyconceptsoftransactionalanalysis
https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/transactional-analysis

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Transactional analysis is a talking therapy and sessions are designed to explore an individual's

DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS

Examining the Ego States of Transactional Analysis

 Do not play with matches.

 Remember to say “please” and “thank you.”

 Do not speak to strangers.

 I feel happy when Mom hugs me.

 Dad’s late night movie was very scary.

 I feel sad when Mom is sad.

Another motivation recognised in transactional analysis is intimacy. Similarly to strokes,

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