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Transactional Analysis (TA) Ajan Raghunathan What is Transactional Analysis Transactional Analysis (TA) is a personality and psychotherapy for

personal growth. It has wide applications in Clinical Psychology, organizations and education also. Dr.Eric Berne, the originator of TA, considers a transaction as the unit of social intercourse. A transaction consists of a transactional stimulus (TS) and a transactional response (TR). TS is the behavior (verbal or nonverbal) produced by one person in acknowledgement of the presence of others when two or more people encounter each other. TR is the response to TS by another person. Ego States In his encounters with his clients, Dr. Berne understood that there exist three distinct states in all people. People change from one state to another in the course of their transactions. This change can be easily noticed by the manners, appearances, words, gestures, and tones. The three distinct states called the ego states are the Parent ego state, the Adult ego state, and the Child ego state. The Parent ego state is produced by the play-back of recordings in the brain of unquestioned or imposed external events perceived by the person before his social birth i.e., before the age of 5 years. This ego state consists of NO's, DONT's, HOW -TO's and the facial expressions, tone of voice, manners etc. of the person's parents. In other words, this ego state consists of the "taught - concepts" of life. The Child ego state is the response the little person produced to what he saw, heard, felt and understood. Most of these are feelings because the child has not developed verbal responses at that time. In other words, this ego state may be considered the collection of "feltconcepts" of life. The Parent ego state begins with the biological birth of the individual and extends up to and age of five years. The Child ego state also starts with the physical birth and continues to develop until the social birth (around the age of five). The Adult ego state develops after both the Parent and the Child ego states have began to develop. This state begins to develop from about ten months of age. The function of this state is to update both Parent data and Child data by continuous examination of these data with respect to actual reality. Thus only those taught concepts and feltconcepts applicable and appropriate to the present are accepted. Thus the Adult state is said to be the "thought-concepts" of life.

Fig -1 PAC System

Berne opines that the recordings in the brain that causes the ego states cannot be erased at all, but "we can choose to turn these recordings off". Berne represents the ego states as circles and represents TS and TR by arrows drawn from the respective ego state of the first person to that of the second person. Types of Transactions Berne identifies two types of transactions: 1. Complementary Transactions

Complementary transactions Examples of Complementary Transactions Parent-Parent, Adult-Adult, Child-Child, Child-Parent, Parent-Child, Child-Adult, Adult-Child, Adult-Parent, ParentAdult First Rule of Communication We have the first rule of communication in TA : "When TS and TR on the P-A-C diagram make parallel lines, the transaction can go on indefinitely." Fig 2. Parent-Parent Transaction (Complementary Transaction) 2. Crossed Transactions Examples of Crossed Transactions Adult-Adult and Parent-Child; Adult-Adult and Child-Parent; Parent-Child and Parent-Child; Child-Parent and Child-Parent Second Rule of Communication Here we have the second rule of communication in TA: "When TS and TR in the P-A-C diagram cross each other, communication stops." Fig.3 Parent-Child and Child-Parent (Crossed Transaction) Duplex Transaction There can be implied communications along with the primary communications. Eg., "Where did you hide the can-opener?" Here the main stimulus is Adult-Adult. But the word hide has an implied stimulus elicited from the Parent of the communicator to the Child of the receiver. This type of communication is called duplex transaction. The duplex transaction (the implied TS or TR) in the transactional diagram is represented by broken arrows.

Fig.4 Adult-Adult with Parent-Child and Child-Parent (Duplex Transaction)

Personality and Psychopathology According to P-A-C system There are two ways in which people differ according to TA. This is either due to contamination or exclusion. In contamination, the P-A-C system overlaps. For example, when Parent and Adult overlap, we have a Parent contaminated Adult. This results in Prejudice. When Adult and Child overlap, we have a Child contaminated Adult. This condition causes delusion.

Fig.5 Contaminated Adult (Prejudice and Delusion)

In exclusion, the communication from one of the P, A, or C is cut off. For example, when Child is cut off, the person cannot play at all and is very rigid and serious, causing neurotic behavior. When the Parent is cut off, the person does not have any conscience at all. If his Adult is also contaminated with Child, the person will be psychopathic.

Fig.6. PAC system with Child cut-off

According to this system, psychosis results when the Adult is completely blocked from Parent and Child. This is called decommissioned Adult. If the blocking out of Adult is periodic, the result is Manic-Depressive personality.

Fig.7. The Decommissioned Adult ( Psychosis)

Detailed History and Description of Transactional Analysis

Transactions Defined Before Berne first published his theories on Transactional Analysis, he spent years formulating the framework of this approach. The key to this methodology was a transaction - the fundamental unit of social intercourse. Berne also defined a stroke - the fundamental unit of social action (strokes are discussed in more detail later in this paper). Many of the criticisms of the "science" (or lack thereof) behind psychotherapy was the fact that there was no basic unit for study, measurement, and classification. For example, the study of chemistry was revolutionized with the atomic theory of John Dalton; without the atom as a fundamental unit, the advancement of chemistry as a science would have proceeded slowly or not at all. By identifying and defining a transaction, Berne provided to the psychotherapeutic sciences the "atom" that was needed to allow for rigorous analysis. Although Berne defined transactions long before he published Games People Play, his description of transactions in Games is the most easily understood: "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."3 With this definition, Dr. Berne defined the basic unit of analysis. At its simplest level, Transactional Analysis is the method for studying interactions between individuals. By identifying and standardizing upon a single unit, development and promotion of this theory was easily facilitated. Psychotherapists were able to read about Berne's theories and test them out in their own practices. Dr. Thomas Harris stated in I'm OK - You're OK that in Transactional Analysis, "we have found a new language of psychology." It should be noted that this approach was profoundly different than that of Freud. While Freud and most other psychotherapists took the rather simplistic approach of asking the patient about themselves, Berne took an alternate approach to therapy. Berne felt that a therapist could learn what the problem was by simply observing what was communicated (words, body language, facial expressions) in a transaction. So instead of directly asking the patient questions, Berne would frequently observe the patient in a group setting, noting all of the transactions that occurred between the patient and other individuals. Berne's Three Ego States In addition to the analysis of the interactions between individuals, Transactional Analysis also involves the identification of the ego states behind each and every transaction. Berne defined an ego state as "a consistent pattern of feeling and experience directly related to a corresponding consistent pattern of behavior."4 As a practicing psychiatrist in Carmel, California in the early 1950s, Berne treated hundreds of patients. During the course of their treatment, he consistently noted that his patients, and indeed all people, could and would change over the course of a conversation. The changes would not necessarily be verbal - the changes could involve facial expressions, body language, body temperature, and many other non-verbal cues. In one counseling session, Berne treated a 35 year old lawyer. During the session, the lawyer (a male) said "I'm not really a lawyer; I'm just a little boy." But outside the confines of Dr. Berne's office, this patient was a successful, hard-charging, attorney. Later, in their sessions, the lawyer would frequently ask Dr. Berne if he was talking "to the lawyer or the little boy." Berne was intrigued by this, as he was seeing a single individual display two "states of being." Berne began referring to these two states as "Adult" and "Child." Later, Berne identified a third state, one that seemed to represent what the patient had observed in his parents when he was small. Berne referred to this as "parent." As Berne then turned to his other patients, he began to observe that these three ego states were present in all of them. As Berne gained confidence in this theory, he went on to introduce these in a 1957 paper - one year before he published his seminal paper introducing Transactional Analysis. Berne ultimately defined the three ego states as: Parent, Adult, and Child. It should be carefully noted that the descriptions of these ego states do NOT necessarily correspond to their common definitions as used the English language. Before describing each of the three ego states, it is important to note that these are fundamentally different than Freud's Ego, Id, and Superego. Berne describes this best when he writes in Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy: "It will be demonstrated that Parent, Adult, and Child are not concepts, like Superego, Ego, and Id, or the Jungian constructs, but phenomenological realities."5 Stated another way, Freud's ego states are unobservable, theoretical states; but Berne's three ego states can be confirmed with observable behaviors. The following are detailed descriptions of the three ego states: Parent - The parent represents a massive collection of recordings in the brain of external events experienced or perceived in approximately the first five years of life. Since the majority of the external events experienced by a child are actions of the parent, the ego state was appropriately called Parent. Note that events perceived by the child from individuals that are NOT parents (but who are often in parent-like roles) are also recorded in the Parent. When Transactional Analysts refer to the Parent ego state (as opposed to a biological or stepparent), it is capitalized. The same goes for the other two state (Adult and Child)

"Im Ok, You're Ok" - TA Psychological Positions Kids are forced to make decisions about themselves -- Im Ok or Not Ok -- and other people -- You're Ok or Not Ok -- much too early in life when they grow up in a less-than-nurturing family. These decisions become the Existential or Psychological Positions from which the child operates...they form the foundations of Self-Esteem. Psychological Positions provide a set of instructions to the child about how to think, feel, and act A "life script" according to TA theory. These deeply rooted decisions are the mental filters through which we make meaning (mind movies) of ourselves, others, and the happenings in world around us. Dr. Thomas A. Harris' classic Im Ok - You're Ok is an original Transactional Analysis work exploring the Psychological Positions of the Parent, Adult, and Child Ego States. If we take into account that there are several wounded Inner Child Ego States (ES) in Adult Children of traumatic childhoods...then we must look at the possibility that each Child ES has made their own decisions and may be living out a different Life Script as a result. For instance the Natural Child is good at finding and highlighting good things about ourselves... the Critical Parent ES may spews out our negative self-talk... The Vulnerable Child usually takes a Victim position of hopelessness, helplessness, or worthlessness...while the Angry/Defiant Child may persecute others by projecting their contempt outwardly. Existential or Psychological Positions Below we explore these Psychological Positions as they relate to the concepts of the Critical Parent, the Angry/Defiant Child, and the Vulnerable Child Ego States created in less-than-nurturing families.

"Im OK...Youre OK" (healthy position) This is potentially a mentally healthy position. Realistic people with this position about themselves and others can solve their problems constructively. They accept the significance of people and get along well with others. They achieve independence (I can do things on my own) and interdependence - "I can choose to be part of a team and accomplish even more than what I can do on my own". Ego States: Healthy Parent (P2), Healthy Adult (A2), and Healthy Child (C2)

"Im OK...Youre Not-OK" (projective position - Externalizers) This is the position of persons who feel victimized or persecuted, so victimizes and persecutes others. They blame others for their miseries. Ego States: A combination of Angry/Defiant Child and Critical Parent Ego States often take this position... they may completely disown or repress their Vulnerable Child ego state early in life.

Seeing the Vulnerable Child (perceived as weakness) in others may trigger them to act-out their contempt for that part of themselves, which in extreme cases may lead to violent behavior including child abuse and homicide. In milder cases, this may take the form of a parent having an unreasonable resentment for his/her own kids, leaving them feeling shame and guilt because they don't know why they feel that way... It's usually the Angry/Defiant Child and/or Critical Parent trying to drive their own Vulnerable Child deeper into hiding (or exile).

"Im Not-OK...Youre OK" (introjective position - Internalizers) This is a common position of persons who feel powerless, not good enough, or less important when they compare themselves to others. Ego States: They usually feel powerless because they have disowned or repressed their Angry/Defiant Child ES causing them to lack assertiveness and boundaries. This position leads them to withdraw, to experience depression, and in severe cases, to become suicidal. People in this position feel not good enough or less important because they internalize the voice of their Critical Parent. They turn the critical and shaming tapes of childhood in on themselves over and over again...further victimizing their already wounded Vulnerable Child.

"Im Not-OK...Youre Not-OK" (futility position Hopeless, Helplessness, or Worthlessness) This is the position of those who lose interest in living, who exhibit eccentric behavior, and in extreme cases, may commit suicide or homicide. This is a position that one must work themselves into. It takes time - or some very severe trauma - for things to get so bad that all defenses collapse leaving this person unprotected from their pain. Ego States: Full expression of the seriously wounded Vulnerable Child, Angry/Defiant Child, and Critical Parent. When things are at their worst, it's a toss up as to whether all that pain and hostility will be pointed inward resulting in a suicide attempt...or outward resulting in a homicide/suicide attempt.

Psychological Sweatshirts Eric Berne, MD often talked about his analogy of psychological "Sweatshirts"... a concept used to explain how a person can hold two existential or psychological positions simultaneously. One position is usually explicit (conscious) and the other implicit (subconscious). The sweatshirt exemplifies the duality of fighting against what we want the most. The analogy is to imagine a person wearing a sweatshirt that has an explicit message on the front and an implicit message on the back. Each message represents it's own existential position -- usually conflicting messages. Here are some examples... Front: "Someone please love me" Back: "Not you Stupid!" Front: "Keep your distance!", Back: "A little closer please" Front: "Why does this always happen to me?" Back: "Kick Me" Front: "I was only trying to help" Back: "Now I've Got You, You SOB!

Front: "Please tell me what to do" Back: "So I can tell you why that can't work". Front: "I hate you!" Back: "Please love me"

"Sweatshirts" are often the result of disowning one ego state, such as the Angry/Defiant Child or the Vulnerable Child ego state, which has the effect of magnifying the ego state that operates at a conscious level. Sweatshirts are also good representations for the nature of the psychological games one subconsciously initiates and participates in. Many times the only way you can tell you've been part of a subconscious game is the surprise bad feeling you get after its over. The game can start as an innocent question but ends with bad feeling in your stomach -- and you haven't a clue about what just happened. The surprise bad feeling is known in TA as the "Payoff" for playing the game -- the Payoff is frequently a somewhat irritating, yet weirdly satisfying feeling that confirms your existential position.

Before Berne While there were many theories purporting to explain human behavior before Eric Berne, the most frequently cited and known is the work of Sigmund Freud. Freud emerged in the early 20th century with his theories about personality. Freud believed that personality had three components, all of which must work together to produce our

complex behaviors. These three components or aspects were the Id, Ego, and the Superego. It was Freud's belief that these three components needed to be well-balanced to produce reasonable mental health and stability in an individual. According to Freud, the Id functions in the irrational and emotional part of the mind, the Ego functions as the rational part of the mind, and the Superego can be thought of as the moral part of the mind, a manifestation of societal or parental values. But perhaps Freud's greatest contribution (and the one that influenced Berne) was the fact that the human personality is multi-faceted. Regardless of the classification or name given to a particular area of personality (id, superego, etc.), each individual possesses factions that frequently collide with each other. And it is these collisions and interactions between these personality factions that manifest themselves as an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Thus, under Freud's theories, an individual's behavior can be understood by analyzing and understanding his/her three factions. But in a point to be emphasized later in this paper, Dr. Berne believes that Freud's proposed structures are "concepts... [and not] phenomenological realities"1 Another scientist whose contributions impacted Dr. Berne in his development of Transactional Analysis is Dr. Wilder Penfield, a neurosurgeon from McGill University in Montreal. Penfield's experiments focused on the application of electrical currents to specific regions of the brain. Penfield discovered that, when applying current to the temporal lobe of live and alert patients, he would stimulate meaningful memories. In addition, not only were vivid pictures of that person's past revealed, but also the feelings and emotions associated with that event were uncovered. These patients would recite these events, even though in many cases they were events that the patients were unable to recollect on their own. Penfield carried out these and similar experiments for many years. Some of the key conclusions that he reached that went on to influence Berne in his development of Transactional Analysis include: The human brain acts in many ways like a camcorder, vividly recording events. While that event may not necessarily be able to be consciously retrieved by the owner, the event always exists in the brain. Both the event and the feelings experienced during that event are stored in the brain. The event and the feelings are locked together, and neither one can be recalled without the other. When an individual replays his or her experiences, he or she can replay them in such a vivid form that the individual experiences again the same emotions he or she felt during the actual experience. Or, as Berne's student Thomas A. Harris said "I not only remember how I felt, I feel the same way now"2 Individuals are able to exist in two states simultaneously. Individuals replaying certain events are able to experience the emotions associated with those events, but they are also able to objectively talk about the events at the same time.

These contributions by Penfield and Freud, as well as many others, were used by Berne as he developed his theories on Transactional Analysis and games.

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