Theory Series: Transactional Analysis
A large part of education as a counselor is focused on becoming familiar with the different psychological theories that therapeutic interventions are based upon. These theories have emerged largely over the course of the past century from some of the most brilliant thinkers and students of human nature. This week, I want to start a new series of blog posts covering several of these theories and what I find useful and interesting about them. We’ll start with Transactional Analysis (TA).
Some readers may be familiar with TA as it has been incorporated into several learning environments, including business settings, communication’s classes, and the military. The main point of TA is to - YOU GUESSED IT! - analyze and understand the transactions (or communications) between individuals to better understand their underlying psychology. The theory provides a simple and profound framework for understanding the communication styles that we all use, the styles that those of us around us use, and the styles of communication we have with one another. Because it is so easy to understand, there are countless use cases for TA, however, it is worth mentioning that I find it is most useful in my romantic relationship.
TA was started by Eric Berne in the 1950. Berne was a student of Freud who divided his concept of the ego into 3 subcategories. The idea is that each interaction we have is funneled through one of these ego states.
The Parent State - This state is based on thoughts and behaviors that we have copied from our parents and other authority figures. They are learned rules and can manifest in both nurturing and critical thoughts and behaviors. E.g., you must clean your room every Sunday because that is what I had to do.
The Child State - This state is largely emotional and manifests thoughts, feelings, and behaviors from childhood into the present. It can take the form of submissiveness or rebelliousness. E.g., I must clean my room every Sunday because that’s what is expected of me.
The Adult State - This state is based in the here and now. It is rational, thoughtful, fair, and balanced. E.g., I should clean my room once a week because having a clean room improves my quality of life.
From here, the theory gets slightly more complicated as Berne introduces the ideas of how problems arise within the context of each ego state. For example, people may develop internal turmoil because of multiple ego states competing to react. He also explores how people tend to learn “scripts” that they may become a basis for their behaviors. This is all too visible when talking to a person who is ideologically possessed. Finally, perhaps his most popular application of this theory, is from illustrating how individuals play “games” to get what they want, instead of asking for it or pursuing it outright. This was the premise for Berne’s massively popular book “Games People Play” which I highly recommend.
At the core of Berne’s theory is the importance of effective and clear communication. As I have mentioned previously, I find the best use case of this theory to be in my own relationship. Of course, there are times when my wife or I will need to comfort each other (playing the adult to the child) but I find it can be most useful when things get tense or there are disagreements. At these points it can be extremely valuable to pause and assess whether we are both operating out of the adult stage, not acting emotionally or judgmentally. Ideally, this is the state that would allow us both to come to a calm and fair compromise. However, the uses in a counseling setting are myriad as well. This is one theory that is worthwhile, and I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with it. It is amazing how such a simple theory can have such impact in both personal and professional settings. If you’re looking for a good place to start, I once again recommend reading “Games People Play” or another popular book of Berne’s called “I’m OK You’re OK”. The latter highlights the benefits of discussing difficult issues from the calm, rational, adult state and all the traps that can occur when we fail to do so. Happy reading!
