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What is Transactional Analysis?

Transactional Analysis (TA) is a widely recognised form of modern counselling and psychotherapy, originally conceived by Eric Berne in the 1950’s and which is now used not only in therapy but also in education and organisational training and consultancy.

It is a theory of personality, behaviour and communication, and draws on tools and methodology from a wide range of psychological disciplines, including humanistic, psychodynamic, person centered and relational therapies.

It is therefore a flexible form of therapy that can be tailored to an individual’s needs to facilitate personal growth and change.

How is Transactional Analysis used in counselling and psychotherapy?

A Transactional Analysis counsellor or psychotherapist has a wide variety of theory to hand including the theory of personality, communication and child development.

Transactional Analysis theory has an emphasis on the therapy being contractual, with a negotiated agreement between the therapist and client on what will be explored in the therapy sessions with a view to an end goal or change. The agreement is not fixed but rather is a dynamic and fluid process where the agreement can be re-negotiated at any time. This enables an active participation, both by the client and the therapist, and an equal partnership which is built on the core values of clear communication, respect, and openness.

Transactional Analysis counselling and psychotherapy can be used for individuals, couples, and groups and for a wide range of issues, including anxiety, depression, bereavement, and other life changing issues.

Some key concepts of Transactional Analysis theory

Transactions– this looks at both the verbal and non-verbal messages we use to communicate with ourselves and others, which can give us an insight to how we think, feel and behave and how we view the world around us.
Unconscious Scripts – this is our life story or ‘script’ that we unconsciously write for ourselves when we are young, uniquely interpreting both internal and external events which influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Transactional Analysis can help facilitate exploration of which of our thoughts, feelings or behavior is archaic and no longer serves us, and is therefore having an impact on how we want to live our lives in the ‘here and now’.
Ego States – Ego states theory relates to personality and is linked to which of our thoughts, feelings or behaviour has either been learnt from our caregivers and other significant people in our formative years (Parent ego state), from past experiences in our childhood (Child ego state) and which are direct responses to the ‘here and now’ (Adult ego state). It may be familiar to you that you play different ‘roles’ depending on the situation you are in, such as at work, or with friends or family and switch between these ‘roles’ many times during the day. In Transactional Analysis we see this as switching between ego states.

Transactional Analysis Counselling and Psychotherapy helps facilitate awareness of your life ‘script’ and its link to archaic perceptions and beliefs with exploration of how you would like to live in the ‘here and now’ to have a more fulfilling, enjoyable, and happier life.

 

Louise Herbert is a psychotherapeutic counsellor who is in the final year of specialist training in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy. To get in touch with Louise, please contact us.

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What is a personality?

We all use the word ‘personality’ in everyday language. We might use it to describe how we experience another person (“She has a nice personality.”) We use it to describe elements of how a person may behave, in the case of personality traits.  And sometimes we use it interchangeably with the word ‘character’ to describe somebody. But what actually is a personality, and why does it matter – particularly when it comes to psychotherapy?

As the word ‘personality’ refers to the mind of a person, and as no human has ever seen a mind, in essence, the term is an abstraction. It’s an idea, a way of understanding how we tick, not a concrete object.

The dictionary suggests that a personality is a collection of characteristics that make up somebody’s character.  What, then, is character?  According to the dictionary, it is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to a particular individual.  And character is apparently synonymous with personality!  Confused yet?

OK, so this is how we mental health professionals generally understand personality. Personality is made up of two distinct categories – temperament and character (there’s that word again).

Temperament

Temperament is considered to be the traits that we inherit from our parents – either genetically, or through other biological means.  A person’s temperament may be a higher predisposition to anxiety, a genetic predisposition to addiction, or to being quick to anger. We are either born with our temperament. or it is developed in utero or shortly thereafter.

Character

Character, in contrast to temperament, is something that emerges at a slower rate as we grow, explore our world, relate to our caregiver and mature.  For example, we learn how to relate to others (particularly in close relationships) through our own attachment story with our primary carer. This way of relating takes place over a significant period of time.

Nature vs Nurture

We can substitute ‘temperament’ for the word ‘nature’ and ‘character’ for the word ‘nurture’ to keep things simple.  While most forward-thinking counsellors or psychotherapists will acknowledge that nature and nurture both play a significant role in defining our character, the jury remains out as to exactly where the boundary lies between the two. In fact, there may be no boundary at all!  For example, it is now increasingly accepted that what matters is not so much a genetic predisposition, but epigenetics – how our genes interact with our environment.  Therefore, just because someone has a genetic predisposition towards alcoholism, if they are raised in a loving home where they can develop a strong, solid sense of identity, it is unlikely they will become a full-blown alcoholic.

Why it matters

Therefore, personality matters as it is a word that encapsulates a large part of our identity and mind.  And in mental health, it is particularly important, as when clinicians treat clients or patients, the work will be significantly different depending on whether the presenting issue is an isolated issue, such as anxiety, or whether the problem relates more to the structure of a person’s personality. Just to confuse matters further, if a client presents with anxiety and has traits or a diagnosed personality disorder, the work will be lengthy and complex.

In Lay Terms

If who we are – how we experience ourselves and relate to others – is dysfunctional, damaging or harmful, then deep psychotherapy is required to restructure the personality. As personalities have taken a long time to form, it takes time for them to change. And because personalities are made up of temperament and character – nature and nurture – how much change is possible is something the therapy will uncover. The goal of depth psychotherapy is, of course, to change the level of the personality. However, it is also about developing kindness and compassion for one’s personal limitations and accepting these so we may lead a calmer, more fulfilled life.

Mark Vahrmeyer is a UKCP-registered psychotherapist working in private practice in Hove and Lewes, East Sussex. He is trained in relational psychotherapy and uses an integrative approach of psychodynamic, attachment and body psychotherapy to facilitate change with clients.

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Therapy – a client’s perspective

An introduction

Hello. I’m Alice Ayres. Up until now on this blog, it’s always been the therapists speaking. This is the first of a series of blog posts in which I will be presenting a view from the other chair, the view of the client. I hope it will be useful to those considering or currently undergoing therapy to hear about my experiences. I won’t be going into detail about the content of my therapy sessions; it’s quite embarrassing enough just talking to my therapist about it, never mind anyone else (even under a pseudonym.) However, I will go through some of the main things that may concern someone considering therapy. How do you find a therapist? What will the first session be like? What do you do if you disagree with your therapist? How do you make plans to end your therapy? I will attempt to discuss all these questions, and more besides, over the course of this blog series. I hope it will be helpful. 

Considering therapy – a client’s experience

Where to start?

The idea of starting therapy can be a daunting prospect. If you’re lucky enough to be able to arrange to see a therapist privately, how on earth do you go about finding someone who will be a good fit for you?

I’ve had therapy several times over the years, starting when I was in my late teens, and I’ve experienced several different modalities. Some of these worked better for me than others.

Although I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time, each experience of a different therapist and a different modality would prove to be immensely valuable in the long run. When choosing my current therapist, I had an idea of what (and who) might work for me and I felt more confident in my ability to discriminate between the many therapists in my area as a result.

Identifying the issues, finding a therapist

It’s a good idea to first think about the main issues that are troubling you, and to read up on the different approaches available before seeking a therapist.

Of course, despite saying this, and typically for me, I wasn’t at all systematic or organised when it came to finding my current therapist. I knew I wanted to see a UKCP-registered psychotherapist, as I had never seen one before, and I had an idea that I might work best with a man. So I typed “UKCP-registered psychotherapist” together with my location into Google, and sorted through the results. The guy I decided to contact had a photo of himself, which I liked. I thought he looked straightforward, honest and trustworthy. Of course, a good photo doesn’t mean he would necessarily have been all of these things, or even one of them, but first impressions are important, and I’m only human, after all. His website was laid out well and jargon-free. I decided to email him and ask for a consultation.

First contact

A few things stand out in my memory about my initial contact with my therapist. He replied quickly and was clear and kind in his communication. One rather embarrassing thing that I remember is that he gently pulled me up on idealising him too much before we’d even had a consultation appointment. I imagine I was probably too effusive in my thanks. I’m sure that I had some unrealistic idea that everything would now be fine forever, and that I was going to be fixed. As I was shortly to discover, therapy, even effective therapy, doesn’t quite work out that way…

Alice Ayres

The writer of this blog is not a current or past client of any therapist presently or formerly practising at Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy. Alice Ayres is a pseudonym.

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Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy

Eric Berne, the founder of Transactional Analysis (TA) described it as ‘a theory of personality and a

systematic psychotherapy for personal growth and change’.

In Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy, we adopt the philosophical principles that:

– People are fundamentally OK, even if they sometimes behave in not-OK ways;

– Everyone (with rare exceptions) has the capacity to think, and can decide what they want from life;

– We make decisions early in life as a result of our experiences, and these decisions can be changed.

In TA, both client and therapist take joint responsibility for achieving the changes that you want to make in therapy.

Central to TA are equality, transparency and open communication, and these underpin our therapeutic work throughout.

The ultimate therapeutic aim of TA Psychotherapy is to achieve autonomy. The definition of autonomy being: awareness, spontaneity and the capacity for intimacy.

In addition to the above, some of the main advantages of TA as a therapeutic method are:

– It helps us easily understand the psychological dynamics within people and between people.

– It embraces cultural diversity and is known world-wide

– It can be used both in short- and long-term psychotherapy

– It’s flexible and applicable with individuals, couples, groups, families and organisations. And finally,

– TA brings together both the depth of psychoanalysis and the warmth of a relational approach.

Sam Jahara and Gerry Gilmartin offer Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy to individuals and couples. Sam Jahara also runs a long-term Psychotherapy Group based on TA principles.

Sam Black and whiteGerry-Gilmartin-image

 

 

 

 

 

Please get in touch with us to find out more.

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