Transactional Analysis (TA) is a
psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory is the theory of personality organization and the dynamics of personality development that guides psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology. First laid out by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century, psyc ...
and method of
therapy
A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis.
As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...
wherein social interactions (or “transactions”) are analyzed to determine the
ego state of the communicator (whether parent-like, childlike, or adult-like) as a basis for understanding behavior. In transactional analysis, the communicator is taught to alter the ego state as a way to solve emotional problems. The method deviates from
Freudian psychoanalysis
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...
which focuses on increasing awareness of the contents of subconsciously held ideas.
Eric Berne
Eric Berne (May 10, 1910 – July 15, 1970) was a Canadian-born psychiatrist who created the theory of transactional analysis as a way of explaining human behavior.
Berne's theory of transactional analysis was based on the ideas of Freud but ...
developed the concept and paradigm of transactional analysis in the late 1950s.
History
Eric Berne presented Transactional Analysis to the world as a
phenomenological approach, supplementing Freud's philosophical construct with observable data. His theory built on the science of
Wilder Penfield
Wilder Graves Penfield (January 26, 1891April 5, 1976) was an American Canadians, American-Physicians in Canada, Canadian neurosurgeon. He expanded brain surgery's methods and techniques, including mapping the functions of various regions of th ...
and
René Spitz
René Árpád Spitz (January 29, 1887 in Vienna – September 11, 1974 in Denver) was an Austrian-American psychoanalyst. He is best known for his analysis of hospitalized infants in which he found links between marasmus and death with unmother ...
along with the neo-psychoanalytic thought of people such as
Paul Federn
Paul Federn (October 13, 1871 – May 4, 1950) was an Austrian-American psychologist who was a native of Vienna. Federn is largely remembered for his theories involving ego psychology and therapeutic treatment of psychosis.
Life and career
Feder ...
,
Edoardo Weiss
Edoardo Weiss (1889-1970) was the earliest Italian psychoanalyst, and the founder of psychoanalysis in Italy. His most important theoretical contributions were perhaps to the development of Ego-state therapy, ego state theory.
Weiss's first art ...
, and
Erik Erikson
Erik Homburger Erikson (born Erik Salomonsen; 15 June 1902 – 12 May 1994) was a German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychological development of human beings. He coined the phrase identity cr ...
. By moving to an interpersonal motivational theory, he placed it both in opposition to the psychoanalytic traditions of his day and within what would become the psychoanalytic traditions of the future. From Berne, transactional analysts have inherited a determination to create an accessible and user-friendly system, an understanding of script or life-plan, ego states, transactions, and a theory of groups.
Berne's theory was based on the ideas of
Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts in ...
but with distinct differences. Freudian psychotherapists focused on client personalities. Berne believed that insight could be better discovered by analyzing a client's social transactions.
[ Berne mapped interpersonal relationships to three ego-states of the individuals involved: the ''Parent, Adult'', and ''Child'' state. He then investigated communications between individuals based on the current state of each. He called these interpersonal interactions ''transactions'' and used the label ''games'' to refer to certain patterns of transactions which popped up repeatedly in everyday life in every human interaction.
The origins of transactional analysis can be traced to the first five of Berne's six articles on intuition, which he began writing in 1949. Even at this early juncture and while still working to become a ]psychoanalyst
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...
, his writings challenged Freudian concepts of the unconscious.
In 1956, after 15 years of psychoanalytic training, Berne was refused admission to the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute as a fully-fledged psychoanalyst. He interpreted the request for several more years of training as a rejection and decided to walk away from psychoanalysis.
Before the end of the year, he had written two seminal papers, both published in 1957.
#In the first article, ''Intuition V: The Ego Image'', Berne referenced P. Federn, E. Kahn, and H. Silberer, and indicated how he arrived at the concept of ego states, including his idea of separating "adult" from "child".
#The second paper, ''Ego States in Psychotherapy'', was based on material presented earlier that year at the Psychiatric Clinic, Mt. Zion Hospital, San Francisco, and at the Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Clinic, UCSF School of Medicine. In that second article, he developed the tripartite scheme used today (Parent, Adult, and Child), introduced the three-circle method of diagramming it, showed how to sketch contaminations, labeled the theory, "structural analysis", and termed it "a new psychotherapeutic approach".
A few months later, he wrote a third article, titled "Transactional Analysis: A New and Effective Method of Group Therapy", which was presented by invitation at the 1957 Western Regional Meeting of the American Group Psychotherapy Association of Los Angeles. With the publication of this paper in the 1958 issue of the ''American Journal of Psychotherapy'', Berne's new method of diagnosis and treatment, transactional analysis, became a permanent part of the psychotherapeutic literature. In addition to restating his concepts of ego states and structural analysis, the 1958 paper added the important new features of transactional analysis proper (i.e. the analysis of transactions), games, and scripts.[
His seminar group from the 1950s developed the term ''transactional analysis (TA)'' to describe therapies based on his work.
By 1964, this expanded into the International Transactional Analysis Association. While still largely ignored by the psychoanalytic community, many therapists have put his ideas in practice.
In the early 1960s, he published both technical and popular accounts of his conclusions. His first full-length book on TA was published in 1961, titled ''Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy''.] ''Structures and Dynamics of Organizations and Groups'' (1963) examined the same analysis in a broader context than one-on-one interaction.
Overview
TA (Transactional Analysis) is not only post-Freudian
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
, but, according to its founder's wishes, consciously extra-Freudian. That is to say that, while it has its roots in psychoanalysis
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
, since Berne was a psychoanalytically-trained psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
, it was designed as a dissenting branch of psychoanalysis in that it put its emphasis on transactional rather than "psycho-" analysis.
With its focus on transactions, TA shifted the attention from internal psychological dynamics to the dynamics contained in people's interaction
Interaction is action that occurs between two or more objects, with broad use in philosophy and the sciences. It may refer to:
Science
* Interaction hypothesis, a theory of second language acquisition
* Interaction (statistics)
* Interactions o ...
s. Rather than believing that increasing awareness of the contents of unconsciously held ideas was the therapeutic path, TA concentrated on the content of people's interactions with each other. Changing these interactions was TA's path to solving emotional problems.
TA also differs from Freudian analysis in explaining that an individual's final emotional state is the result of inner dialogue
Intrapersonal communication is the process by which an individual communicates within themselves, acting as both sender and receiver of messages, and encompasses the use of unspoken words to consciously engage in self-talk and inner speech.
Intr ...
between different parts of the psyche, as opposed to the Freudian hypothesis that imagery is the overriding determinant of inner emotional state. (For example, depression may be due to ongoing critical verbal messages from the inner Parent to the inner Child.) Berne believed that it is relatively easy to identify these inner dialogues and that the ability to do so is parentally suppressed in early childhood.
In addition, Berne believed in making a commitment to "curing" his clients, rather than just understanding them. To that end he introduced one of the most important aspects of TA: the contract—an agreement entered into by both client and therapist to pursue specific changes that the client desires.
Revising Freud's concept of the human psyche as composed of the id, ego, and super-ego
The id, ego, and super-ego are a set of three concepts in psychoanalytic theory describing distinct, interacting agents in the psychic apparatus (defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche). The three agents are theoretical const ...
, Berne postulated in addition three "ego states"—the Parent, Adult, and Child states—which were largely shaped through childhood experiences. These three are all part of Freud's ego; none represent the id or the superego.
Unhealthy childhood experiences can lead to being pathologically fixated in the Child and Parent ego states, bringing discomfort to an individual and/or others in a variety of forms, including many types of mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
.
Berne considered how individuals interact with one another, and how the ego states affect each set of transactions. Unproductive or counterproductive transactions were considered to be signs of ego state problems. Analyzing these transactions according to the person's individual developmental history would enable the person to "get better". Berne thought that virtually everyone has something problematic about their ego states and that negative behaviour would not be addressed by "treating" only the problematic individual.
Berne identified a typology of common counterproductive social interactions, identifying these as "games
A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...
".
Berne presented his theories in two popular books on transactional analysis: '' Games People Play'' (1964) and ''What Do You Say After You Say Hello?'' (1975).
By the 1970s, because of TA's non-technical and non-threatening jargon and model of the human psyche, many of its terms and concepts were adopted by eclectic therapists as part of their individual approaches to psychotherapy
Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...
. It also served well as a therapy model for groups of patients, or marital/family counselees, where interpersonal (rather than intrapersonal) disturbances were the focus of treatment.
TA's popularity in the U.S. waned in the 1970s. The more dedicated TA purists banded together in 1964 with Berne to form a research and professional accrediting body, the International Transactional Analysis Association, or ITAA.
Fifty years later
Within the framework of transactional analysis, more recent transactional analysts have developed different and overlapping theories of transactional analysis: cognitive, behavioural, relational, redecision, integrative, constructivist, narrative, body-work, positive psychological, personality adaptational, self-reparenting, psychodynamic and neuroconstructivist.
Some transactional analysts highlight the many things they have in common with cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. CBT focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions (suc ...
: the use of contracts with clear goals, the attention to cognitive distortions (called "adult decontamination" or "child deconfusion"), the focus on the client's conscious attitudes and behaviours and the use of "strokes".
Cognitive-based transactional analysts use ego state identification to identify communication distortions and teach different functional options in the dynamics of communication.
Some make additional contracts for more profound work involving life plans or scripts or with unconscious processes, including those which manifest in the client-therapist relationship as transference and countertransference, and define themselves as psychodynamic
Psychodynamics, also known as psychodynamic psychology, in its broadest sense, is an approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate t ...
or relational transactional analysts. Some highlight the study and promotion of subjective well-being and optimal human functioning rather than pathology and so identify with positive psychology
Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living, focusing on both individual and societal well-being. It studies "positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions...it aims t ...
. Some are increasingly influenced by current research in attachment, mother-infant interaction and by the implications of interpersonal neurobiology and non-linear dynamic systems.
Outline
Transactional analysis integrates the theories of psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and psychotherapy
Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...
because it has elements of psychoanalytic
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might be ...
, humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humani ...
and cognitive
Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
ideas.
According to the International Transactional Analysis Association,[quoted in Stewart & Joines, p3] TA "is a theory of personality and a systematic psychotherapy
Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...
for personal growth and personal change."
# As a theory of personality, TA describes how people are structured psychologically. It uses what is perhaps its best known model, the ego-state (Parent-Adult-Child) model, to do this. The same model helps explain how people function and express their personality in their behaviour
# As Berne set up his psychology, there are four life positions that a person can hold, and holding a particular psychological position has profound implications for how an individual operationalizes his or her life. The positions are stated as:
## I'm OK and you are OK. This is the healthiest position about life and it means that I feel good about myself and that I feel good about others and their competence.
## I'm OK and you are not OK. In this position I feel good about myself but I see others as damaged or less than me and this is usually not healthy.
## I'm not OK and you are OK. In this position the person sees him/herself as the weak partner in relationships as the others in life are definitely better than the self. The person who holds this position will unconsciously accept abuse as OK.
## I'm not OK and you are not OK. This is the worst position to be in as it means that I believe that I am in a terrible state and the rest of the world is as bad. Consequently, there is no hope for any ultimate supports.
# It is a theory of communication that can be extended to the analysis of systems and organisations.
# It offers a theory for child development
Child development involves the Human development (biology), biological, developmental psychology, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. Childhood is divided into 3 stages o ...
by explaining how our adult patterns of life originated in childhood. This explanation is based on the idea of a "Life (or Childhood) Script": the assumption that we continue to re-play childhood strategies, even when this results in pain or defeat. Thus it claims to offer a theory of psychopathology
Psychopathology is the study of abnormal cognition, behaviour, and experiences which differs according to social norms and rests upon a number of constructs that are deemed to be the social norm at any particular era.
Biological psychopatholo ...
.
# In practical application, it can be used in the diagnosis and treatment of many types of psychological disorders and provides a method of therapy for individuals, couples, families and groups.
# Outside the therapeutic field, it has been used in education to help teachers remain in clear communication at an appropriate level, in counselling
Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes.
This is a list of co ...
and consultancy, in management and communications training and by other bodies.
Philosophy
* People are OK; thus each person has validity, importance, equality of respect.[Stewart and Joines, p.7]
* Positive reinforcement
In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...
increases feelings of being OK.[White, M. & White J. ''Talking TA''. (WPATA Publications, revised 1998)]
* All people have a basic lovable core and a desire for positive growth.
* Everyone (with only few exceptions, such as the severely brain-damaged) has the capacity to think.
* All of the many facets of an individual have a positive value for them in some way.
* People decide their story and destiny, therefore these decisions can be changed.
* All emotional difficulties are curable.
Freedom from historical maladaptations embedded in the childhood script is required in order to become free of inappropriate, inauthentic and displaced emotions which are not a fair and honest reflection of here-and-now life (such as echoes of childhood suffering, pity-me and other mind games, compulsive behaviour and repetitive dysfunctional life patterns). The aim of change under TA is to move toward autonomy (freedom from childhood script), spontaneity, intimacy, problem ''solving'' as opposed to ''avoidance'' or ''passivity'', cure as an ideal rather than merely making progress and learning new choices.
The ego-state, or Parent–Adult–Child (PAC), models
Many of the core TA models and concepts can be categorised into
* Structural analysis – analysis of the individual psyche
* Transactional analysis proper – analysis of interpersonal transactions based on structural analysis of the individuals involved in the transaction
* Game analysis – repeating sequences of transactions that lead to a result subconsciously agreed to by the parties involved in the game
* Script analysis – a life plan that may involve long-term involvement in particular games in order to reach the life pay-off of the individual
At any given time, a person experiences and manifests his or her personality through a mixture of behaviours, thoughts, and feelings. Typically, according to TA, there are three ego-states that people consistently use:
* ''Parent'' ("exteropsyche"): a state in which people behave, feel, and think in response to an unconscious mimicking of how their parents (or other parental figures) acted, or how they interpreted their parent's actions. For example, a person may shout at someone out of frustration because they learned from an influential figure in childhood the lesson that this seemed to be a way of relating that worked.
* ''Adult'' ("neopsyche"): a state of the ego which is most like an artificially intelligent system processing information and making predictions about major emotions that could affect its operation. Learning to strengthen the Adult is a goal of TA. While a person is in the Adult ego state, he/she is directed towards an objective appraisal of reality.
* ''Child'' ("archaeopsyche"): a state in which people behave, feel, and think similarly to how they did in childhood. For example, a person who receives a poor evaluation at work may respond by looking at the floor and crying or pouting, as when scolded as a child. Conversely, a person who receives a good evaluation may respond with a broad smile and a joyful gesture of thanks. The Child is the source of emotions, creation, recreation, spontaneity, and intimacy.
Berne differentiated his Parent, Adult, and Child ego states from actual adults, parents, and children, by using capital letter
Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...
s when describing them. These ego states may or may not represent the relationships that they act out. For example, in the workplace, an adult supervisor may take on the Parent role, and scold an adult employee as though he were a Child. Or a child, using the Parent ego-state, could scold her actual parent as though the parent were a Child.
Within each of these ego states are subdivisions. Thus Parental figures are often either
* more ''nurturing'' (permission-giving, security-giving) or
* more ''criticising'' (comparing to family traditions and ideals in generally negative ways);
Childhood behaviours are either
* more ''natural'' (''free'') or
* more ''adapted'' to others.
These subdivisions categorize individuals' patterns of behaviour, feelings, and ways of thinking, which can be functional (beneficial or ''positive'') or dysfunctional/counterproductive (''negative'').
Berne states that there are four types of diagnosis of ego states. They are: "behavioural" diagnosis, "social" diagnosis, "historical" diagnosis, and "phenomenological" diagnosis. A complete diagnosis would include all four types. It has subsequently been demonstrated that there is a fifth type of diagnosis, namely "contextual", because the same behaviour will be diagnosed differently according to the context of the behaviour.
Ego states do not correspond directly to Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
's ego, superego, and id
The id, ego, and super-ego are a set of three concepts in psychoanalytic theory describing distinct, interacting agents in the psychic apparatus (defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche). The three agents are theoretical const ...
, although there are obvious parallels: Superego/Parent; Ego/Adult; Id/Child. Ego states are consistent for each person, and (argue TA practitioners) are more observable than the components of Freud's model. In other words, the ego state from which someone is communicating is evident in their behavior, manner and expression.
Emotional blackmail
Emotional blackmail is a term coined by psychotherapist Dr. Susan Forward, about controlling people in relationships and the theory that fear
Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...
, obligation
An obligation is a course of action that someone is required to take, whether legal or moral. Obligations are constraints; they limit freedom. People who are under obligations may choose to freely act under obligations. Obligation exists when the ...
, and guilt
Guilt may refer to:
*Guilt (emotion), an emotion that occurs when a person feels that they have violated a moral standard
*Culpability, a legal term
*Guilt (law), a legal term
Music
*Guilt (album), ''Guilt'' (album), a 2009 album by Mims
*Guilt ( ...
(FOG) are the transactional dynamics at play between the controller and the person being controlled. Understanding these dynamics are useful to anyone trying to extricate from the controlling behavior
Control may refer to:
Basic meanings Economics and business
* Control (management), an element of management
* Control, an element of management accounting
* Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization
* Controlling ...
of another person, and deal with their own compulsions to do things that are uncomfortable, undesirable, burdensome, or self-sacrificing for others.
Forward and Frazier identify four blackmail types each with their own mental manipulation style:[Susan Forward/Donna Frazier, ''Emotional Blackmail'' (London 1997) pp. 28, 82, 145, 169.]
There are different levels of demands—demands that are of little consequence, demands that involve important issues or personal integrity
Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values.
In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Inte ...
, demands that affect major life decisions, and/or demands that are dangerous or illegal.
Effectiveness
A 1995 research article by the staff of ''Consumer Reports'', with Martin Seligman as consultant, assessed that psychotherapy conducted by a group of Transactional Analysts is more effective than that of groups of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, marriage counselors, and physicians; and that psychotherapy lasting more than six months is 40% more effective than that lasting less than six months.
A 2010 review found 50 studies on transactional analysis that concluded it had a positive effect, and 10 where no positive effect was found. No studies that concluded a negative effect were found.
Criticism
The three major limitations of Berne's work are:
*Berne's emphasis on structural explanation (rather than on those derived from an energy theory)
*His failure to develop a script reversal technique which would satisfy his own criteria of conciseness and theoretical consistency
*An apparent dependence upon content analysis
In popular culture
When Will Hunting from the movie ''Good Will Hunting
''Good Will Hunting'' is a 1997 American psychological drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver.
The film received positive r ...
'' is being choked by Sean Maguire, you can see the spine of the book '' I'm OK, You're OK'' in the bookcase that Will is being pinned against.
Thomas Harris
William Thomas Harris III (born 1940/1941) is an American writer, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter. The majority of his works have been adapted into films and television, the most notab ...
's successful popular work from the late 1960s, ''I'm OK, You're OK'', is largely based on transactional analysis. A fundamental divergence, however, between Harris and Berne is that Berne postulates that everyone starts life in the "I'm OK" position, whereas Harris believes that life starts out "I'm not OK, you're OK".[Harris, ''I'm OK, You're OK'', page 42.]
New Age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
author James Redfield
James Redfield is an American author, lecturer, screenwriter, and film producer. He is notable for his 1993 novel ''The Celestine Prophecy''.
Biography
Redfield grew up in a rural area near Birmingham, Alabama. He studied Eastern philosophie ...
has acknowledged Harris and Berne as important influences in his best-seller ''The Celestine Prophecy
''The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure'' is a 1993 novel by James Redfield that discusses various psychological and spiritual ideas rooted in multiple ancient Eastern traditions and New Age spirituality. The main character undertakes a journ ...
'' (1993). The protagonists in the novel survive by striving (and succeeding) in escaping from "control dramas" that resemble the games of TA.
The twelfth episode of the third season of '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' is called "Games Ponies Play" as a homage to this work.
Singer/songwriter Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician.
Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...
mentions transactional analysis in his 1980 song "Gorilla, You're a Desperado" from the album '' Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School''.
Singer-songwriter Joe South
Joe South (born Joseph Alfred Souter; February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1970 for " Ga ...
's 1968 song, " Games People Play", was based directly on transactional-analytic concepts and Berne's book of the same name.
TA makes an appearance in Antonio Campos' 2016 biographical drama ''Christine
Christine may refer to:
People
* Christine (name), a female given name
Film
* ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei''
* ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name
* ''Christine'' (1987 fil ...
'', a film covering the events that led TV journalist Christine Chubbuck
Christine "Chris" Chubbuck (August 24, 1944 – July 15, 1974) was an American television news reporter who worked for stations WTOG and WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida. She was the first person to die by suicide on a live television broadcas ...
to die by suicide on TV. She is brought to a transactional analysis therapy session by a colleague, where they introduce her to the "Yes, But..." technique.
Singer John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...
references transactional analysis in his autobiography. His wife at the time, Annie Denver, was getting into the movement. John says he tried it but found it wanting.
Eric Berne's ''Games People Play'' was featured prominently on an episode of ''Mad Men
''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fict ...
''. The book was seen in Season 4, Episode 11, titled "Chinese Wall". The approximate time period for this episode is September 1965. By late September 1965, ''Games People Play'' had been on the ''New York Times'' non-fiction bestseller list for nine weeks already.
See also
References
Sources
Books by Eric Berne (popular)
* (1964) '' Games People Play''. New York: Grove Press. .
** (1996) (Paperback reissue ed.) New York: Ballantine Books. .
* (1975) ''A Layman's Guide to Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis'' (paperback); 1975, Grove Press; .
* (1975) ''What Do You Say After You Say Hello?'' .
Books by Eric Berne (other)
* ''Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy''. .
* ''The Structure and Dynamics of Organizations and Groups''. .
Books by other authors
* Boyce, Gregory J., ''No More Drama : A Practical Guide to Healthy Relationships'', (Soul Dance Query 2012) .
* Clarke, Susan L., ''Clarke's Dictionary of Transactional Analysis'' aperback 2012 , .
* Corkille Briggs, Dorothy, ''Celebrate Your Self''. (1986). Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group. .
* Freed, Alvyn M. and Regina Faul-Jensen (illustrator) (1978) ''T.A. For Teens''. Sacramento, CA: Jalmar Press. .
* Greer, Art, ''No Grownups in Heaven: A T-A Primer for Christians (and Others)'' (Hawthorn Books, 1975). .
* Harris, Thomas A., ''"I'm OK, You're Okay"'' (Harper & Row 1967). .
* Muriel, James and Dorothy Jongeward, ''Born to Win: Transactional Analysis with Gestalt Experiments'' (Addison-Wesley, 1971).
* Nelson, Leslie, ''TA for Military Kids'' (Inspiring Voices. January 9, 2014). .
* Singer, Margaret and Janja Lalich, ''Crazy Therapies: What Are They? Do They Work?'' 1996, Reparenting, TA and ITAA. .
* Steiner, Claude and JoAnn Dick (illustrator), ''The Original Warm Fuzzy Tale: A Fairytale''. Sacramento: Jalmar Press, 1977. .
* Steiner, Claude (1990; Paperback reissue ed.). ''Scripts People Live: Transactional Analysis of Life Scripts''. New York: Grove Press. .
* Stewart, Ian and Vann Joines, ''TA Today: A New Introduction to Transactional Analysis''. .
* Tangolo, Anna Emanuela, ''Psychodynamic Psychotherapy with Transactional Analysis: Theory and Narration of a Living Experience'', Karnac Books, 2015 ().
* White, Tony, ''Working with suicidal individuals'' (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2011). .
* White, Tony, ''Working with drug and alcohol users'' (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2012). .
External links
*
*
The International Transactional Analysis Association
European Association for Transactional Analysis
The Berne Institute in England
Institute of Transactional Analysis
* UK Association fo
Transactional Analysis
TA Works Training Institute in Oxford
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Psychoanalytic theory