TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS

VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE

For Berne, people are motivated primarily by basic psychological hungers to transcend patterns of behavior that begin early in life: stimulus hunger which is the need to be acknowledged or affirmed by others, structure hunger which is how we use time to maximize the number of strokes we receive, and position hunger in the need to have our fundamental decisions about life validated and affirmed.  Personality is composed of three conscious or preconscious ego states, each an organized psychological system of feelings, thoughts, and behaviors: the Parent, the Adult, and the Child.

DEVELOPMENT OF MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR

According to Berne, Psychopathology is the result of confused ego states. This confusion occurs when a person vacillates between ego states without completing his or her transaction. In addition, maladaptive behavior can result from playing games, a  recurring set of transactions with a concealed motivation. Games occur when a persons turn to others for confirmation of their negative "not- OK" position, and the result is the avoidance of intimacy.

GOALS OF THERAPY

The fundamental goal of transactional analysis is to help clients achieve autonomy, that is to assume responsibility for their own actions or feelings, to take control of their lives, to plan and direct their own destinies, and to throw off any perceptions that are inappropriate for living here and now. In other words, transactional analysis helps to free one's Adult form the influence of the Child and Parent. Another goal of transactional analysis is to help clients analyze their relationships by discovering their predominant Life Positions.

FUNCTIONS OF THE THERAPIST

The transactional analysis counselor works at being a catalyst for enabling clients to mobilize their resources. Acting very much like a teacher, the therapist explains key concepts such as structural analysis, script analysis, and game analysis. In addition the therapist helps clients make full and effective use of all three ego states, to live game-free.

MAJOR METHODS AND TECHNIQUES

Transactional analysis typically begins with a contract between client and therapist, which includes statements about what the client hopes to achieve and what the counselor will do, as well as specific criteria for knowing when the goal has been achieved. Structural analysis is then employed to identify the client's ego states and to become aware of how they function. Functional analysis is a didactic method used to describe transactions to the client. Game analysis looks at the methods of game playing in which a client may be involved. And script analysis examines the person's life direction, which is usually set an early age.

APPLICATION

Transactional analysis does not provide an abundance of case material. To a large extent, then, transactional analysis has focused its attention on nonclinical applications such as social and organizational situations, often all the expense of providing substantial case material.

PARTICIPANTS:

Andal, Mary Grace

Bigar, Marjorie

Passion, Josielou

Villarey, Ruby Marie