Transactional Analysis

Transactional analysis (TA) is a psychological theory and method of psychotherapy developed by Eric Berne in the late 1950s. It focuses on the interactions, or “transactions,” between individuals and analyzes the ways these exchanges are influenced by different states of the mind: Parent, adult, and child. TA is often used for communication improvement, understanding relationship dynamics, and personal development. TA is a widely embraced and frequently used type of psychotherapy. It is a valuable resource for people who want to explore their ego states and unconscious life scripts to improve their communication skills and relationships. People willing to develop greater self-awareness and take responsibility for their decisions and actions may be suited to this therapeutic method. It focuses on how people interact with others, including the therapist, to demonstrate their ego states and the types of games and scripts they engage in within social settings. The system of here-and-now emotional analysis, or neopsyche, is termed the adult; the system of introjected psychic material, or exteropsyche, is called the parent; and the system of instinctual drives and basic needs is the child. The unit of social intercourse is called a transaction. If two or more people encounter each other… sooner or later one of them will speak, or give some other indication of acknowledging the presence of the others. This is called transactional stimulus. Another person will then say or do something which is in some way related to the stimulus, and that is called the transactional response. TA focuses on problems in ego states (parent, adult, and child) with distinctive behavioral functions of controlling parent, nurturing parent, adult, adapted child, and free child. Individuals can develop long-term problems in their ego states, social functioning, and self-efficacy as the result of unfavorable messages from their social context (negative parental messages in early life, lack of developing mature coping mechanisms, intergenerational messages, and negative stroke balance), script decisions (accepting or rejecting unfavorable messages via behavior, emotional disconnection, or cognitive styles), life events, and genetics/temperament. TA treatment intends to help clients by developing constructive ego states, improving social functioning, and stimulating a sense of self-efficacy. Research confirms that TA improves psychopathology, behavior, and general well-being, thanks to improvement in ego states, self-efficacy, and social functioning. These effects are achieved by four evidence-based therapist.