Transactional, or transactional (transactional), analysis is a system of group psychotherapy in which the interaction of individuals is analyzed from the point of view of the three main states of the self.

The founder of this direction in psychology and psychotherapy is the American psychologist and psychiatrist Eric Berne, who developed it in the 50s. XX century E. Bern identified the subject of research and observation - human behavior. He not only created a method of transactional analysis, but also detailed it in his numerous books, several of which have been translated into Russian.

The method created by E. Bern is divided into several stages:

1. Structural analysis, or the theory of ego states. The actual transactional analysis of activity and communication, based on the concept of "transaction" as the interaction of the ego-states of two individuals entering into communication (the ego-state is understood as the actual way of existence of the I-subject).

2. Analysis of psychological games;

3. Script analysis (analysis of a life scenario - "script"). E. Bern believed that each person has his own life scenario, the model of which is outlined in early childhood. People grow up, but in accordance with their life scenario they continue to play various games. The whole life of mankind is filled with games. According to E. Bern, the most terrible game is war. There are three I - States: I am an Adult, I am a Parent, I am a Child. Group psychotherapy, according to E. Bern, should develop at the Adult-Adult level. The head of the enterprise, the manager must learn to highlight the states of the Adult both in his own consciousness and behavior, and in the consciousness and behavior of other people, especially subordinates, clients, partners, seeking communication at the Adult-Adult level. Communication with different people, for example, with colleagues, bosses, can be built in different ways depending on the psychological state of the person, on the topic of communication, as well as on the purpose of communication and whether the communication is disinterested or the person wants to achieve something from his interlocutor ...

Skillful use of this method helps the manager to achieve effective communication. Effective communication will be when it is conducted in the same language, that is, the Adult will talk with the Adult, the Child - with the Child, the Parent with the Parent.

Distinguish between transactional analysis in the narrow and broad sense. In a narrow sense, it is an analysis of the interaction of two or more people, in a broad sense - a socially oriented psychotherapeutic method, the ultimate goal of which is the formation of a harmonious, socially adapted personality.

A modern manager should be able to use this method in both a narrow and a broad sense. Let us consider the components of E. Bern's method.

Structural analysis is the theory of ego states. E. Bern uses the terminology of S. Freud, denoting I - the concept - the Ego. The purpose of structural analysis is mainly to provide answers to the questions: Who am I? Why am I doing this? What part of my I acts or should act in this situation in order to benefit and not defeat? Structural analysis studies what part of a person's personality and actions is a particular ego state.

Three states of a person. Their characteristics:

The ego-state of the Parent (P), according to E. Berne, reveals itself in such manifestations as control, prohibitions, ideal requirements, dogmas, sanctions, care, power. A parent is a collection of dogmas and postulates that a person perceives in childhood and which he retains later throughout his life. It is a complex of beliefs, moral norms, prejudices and prescriptions, uncritically assimilated by an individual both in childhood and throughout his life, and dictating a line of behavior to him. This is the commanding part of the personality. In addition, the ego-state of the Parent contains automated forms of behavior that have developed during their lifetime, eliminating the need to consciously calculate each step. E. Bern notes that the Parent can manifest itself in two ways - directly or indirectly: as an active state of the I or as the influence of the Parent. In the first, active, case, the person reacts in the same way as his father or mother reacted in such cases. If we talk about indirect influence, then usually a person's reaction is what was expected of him, i.e. the person either imitates one of the parents, or adapts to their requirements.

Thus, there are two main forms of manifestation of the Parent: caring (advice, support, guardianship and others). When worthy postulates are put forward in the first place ("To defend the Motherland from the enemy is a sacred cause," generation (“The main thing in life is to eat deliciously and sleep softly,” “Money doesn't smell,” and more). The parent is the most inert part of the human I, which always remains outside the zone of criticism. The parent influences the person's behavior by performing the function of conscience.

Ego-state Adult (B) includes a probabilistic assessment of the situation, rationality, competence, independence. This state has nothing to do with a person's age, but represents the ability of a person to store, use and process information based on previous experience. Although the Adult uses the information inherent in the Parent and Child, he is independent of the Parent's prejudices and dogmas and the Child's impulses. An adult is the ability to find compromises and alternatives in life's dead ends, which sometimes seem hopeless. This state functions "here and now" independently of the past.

Ego-state Child (Re) contains affective complexes associated with early impressions and experiences. A child lives in a person all his life and manifests itself even in old people, when they think, feel, react to the environment in the same way as they did in childhood. This is a very valuable part of the human personality, the most impulsive and sincere. The child gives the personality a surprise. Distinguish between a natural (free) child and an adapted, or adapted child. The Natural Child is characterized by a tendency towards fun, lively movement, fantasy, impulsiveness and relaxedness. The Adapted Child is represented by such varieties as rebellious (against the Parent), consenting and alienating.

The most important provision of the theory of ego-states is the thesis about the "switching" of one ego-state to another: the same individual in different life situations can manifest itself as a Parent, as an Adult, as a Child. In addition, more than one ego state can simultaneously manifest in the behavior and experiences of an individual. The figure (Appendix 14) shows a structural diagram in a complete and simplified form.

The Adult state is necessary for life, since a person processes information and calculates the probabilities that need to be known in order to effectively interact with the world around him.

The Adult controls the actions of the Parent and the Child and is an intermediary between them.

The next fundamental concept of transactional analysis is "games", interpreted as forms of behavior with an ulterior motive, in which one of the interacting subjects achieves a psychological or other advantage over the other (wins). Games can be "good", when the other subject does not suffer from winning the first, and "bad", when the maneuvers and deceptive strategy of the first subject lead to the infringement of the well-being of the second. On the basis of transactional analysis, E. Bern developed psychotherapy designed to free a person from the scripts that program his life, through their awareness, through opposing them with immediacy, spontaneity, closeness and sincerity in interpersonal relationships, through the development of reasonable and independent behavior.

The ultimate goal of transactional analysis is to achieve a harmonious, balanced personality through harmonious relationships between all ego states. The main task in this case is to achieve the state of an autonomous Adult.

The actual transactional analysis.

A transaction is a unit of communication, that is, the interaction of two or more people. A single act of human relationships is the exchange of moves. A transaction begins with a transactional stimulus, or motivating move, a sign that indicates that the presence (or action) of one person is perceived by another. Transaction (transaction) - an exchange of actions. The answer is called a transactional reaction or retaliatory move. The exchange of moves is very similar to a trading operation, since it is carried out according to the principle "you - me, I - you". That is why it is often called a transaction.

In a transactional reaction, the person to whom the stimulus is directed responds with some kind of action, for example, a smile, a frowning face, eyes averted to the side, and more.

People tend to be sensitive to transactional incentives. For example: in a tram, Mr. A preemptively moves aside to make way for Mr. B. It is clear that his presence has been noticed.

Transactions can be either positive, benevolent, or negative, unfriendly, or even aggressive.

In transactional analysis, four possible life attitudes are considered that determine the attitude towards oneself and towards others:

1) I am bad, you are good;

2) I am bad, you are bad;

3) I am good, you are bad;

4) I'm good, you're good.

The purpose of the analysis of transactions is to acquire the skill of determining what kind of transaction takes place, which state of I is responsible for the transactional stimulus, and which state of the partner's I responded with an action.

Transaction forms: complementary (parallel), cross (intersecting) and hidden.

The most mature and healthy are additional transactions when a stimulus sent by a person meets an adequate, natural response in a given situation (Figure in Appendix No. 14).

For example, two people (a manager and a subordinate) interact as Parent-Parent.

Example 1. Dialogue between the head of the department and the subordinate: “This is a disgrace! Additional work fell on our department again ”. Subordinate: “Really disgraceful. And this is not the first time! "

Example 2. Leader: "The general management has entrusted our division with the development of a new product, so from today on you will be working seven days a week." Subordinate: "Well, it is necessary, it is necessary, only you will also work with us seven days a week."

This can be the Child-Parent interaction, when the subordinate needs sympathy and understanding from the boss and receives them, and vice versa (see Fig. Appendix).

Example 1. Subordinate: "Today I have a very headache." Leader: "Go home, lie down, and we will do your work ourselves."

Example 2. Manager: “I don’t know what to do. Top management has assigned too much work, and there are not enough people in our department to do it. Maybe attract people from other departments? " Subordinate: "Do not worry, we will do everything ourselves."

Also, two people can interact as an Adult-Adult. These interactions are beneficial in a work environment.

Head to subordinate: "I ask you to fulfill this assignment by tomorrow so that I can prepare a report to the ministry." Subordinate: "Okay, I'll take the material home and work in the evening."

The main feature of additional transactions is that the interaction vectors are parallel, and therefore never intersect. This rule does not depend on the nature of the transactions or their content. As long as the transactions will retain an additional (parallel) nature, the rule will be fulfilled regardless of whether its participants in the workplace are busy discussing household chores (Parent-Parent), whether they are solving a real production problem (Adult-Adult), or just playing together (Child-Child ).

In normal human relationships, a stimulus entails an appropriate, expected, and natural response.

E. Bern considers the following to be the first rule of communication:

As long as the transactions are complementary, the communication process will run smoothly. The consequence of this rule is that as long as transactions are complementary, the communication process can continue indefinitely.

The inverse rule is that the communication process is interrupted if what we call an intersecting transaction occurs.

Overlapping transactions occur when an inappropriate response to a given stimulus follows.

Example 1. Subordinate to the leader: "Let's start developing a new line of business." Manager: “I didn't have enough additional trouble! Who will do it? Don't meddle in your own business! " (Fig. See Appendix). In this case, the subordinate takes the Adult's move, proposing a serious matter, and the manager acts in response in the role of the Parent.

Example 2. Manager to subordinate: "You did not take the red folder with the report from my desk?" (the move of an Adult interested in information). The subordinate could have limited himself to a short answer: “No, I haven’t seen” or more complete: “No, I haven’t seen. Let me help you find it ”, (Fig. See Appendix). But the subordinate is not doing well at home, and he rudely replies: “You are always losing her. Take it where you left it ”or“ Why do you always put off everything until the last moment, and then find fault with us? ” The answer came from the Parent. Such a response can contribute to the development of a conflict situation (Fig. Appendix No. 14).

Example 3. Let's go back to the first example. In response to the leader's remark, the subordinate might say: “Why are you shouting at me? Who gave you such a right? " Such a turn of events entails a conflict, a quarrel.

In life, similar overlapping transactions occur very often. Such transactions are a constant source of family, business and everyday conflicts. Overlapping transactions can occur in patients and mediocre doctors when a patient turns to a doctor as an Adult to an Adult with constructive suggestions and reasonable remarks, and receives an authoritarian superficial response from a Parent to a Child. Transactions overlap, and in the future, the interaction of these individuals is doomed to failure. An intersecting transaction causes the greatest difficulties in the process of communication, no matter what side of human relations it touches.

In the course of the analysis of transactions, it is not enough just to state the fact of intersection of vectors. It is also necessary to find out which part of the personality unexpectedly activated and destroyed the interaction. For example, if the second participant in the transaction reacts to the Adult's appeal to his adult state with a childish state of I, then the solution of the problem should be postponed until the vectors are brought into a state in which further transactions can become parallel. This can be done in two ways: either by becoming a Parent and complementing the Child who has awakened in the interlocutor, or by activating the Adult in the interlocutor.

Analyzing transactions is difficult, but an experienced manager should be able to do it. Sometimes a specialist, a psychotherapist, may be invited to the company. This is done in the event that conflicts become permanent and destructive.

The simplest are complementary and overlapping transactions. In addition to them, there are two-level transactions - corner and double, in which one visible level is what is pronounced (E. Bern calls it social), and the second is hidden, or psychological, what is meant (subtext). In an angular transaction, the stimulus is directed, for example, from Adult to Adult, and the response is from Child to Adult or from Child to Child. Latent transactions require the simultaneous participation of more than two states of I. Hidden (angular) transactions are presented in the figure (See in the appendix).

Hidden transactions are often used by diplomats, lovers, etc. He: “Would you like to come to me for half an hour to look at my library? Choose something to read. " She: “I have just a couple of free hours. I love interesting books so much. "

On a social level, there is a conversation between adults about books, while on a psychological level, it is a conversation between a Child and an Adult, and its content is sexual relations. E. Berne analyzes such games: “On the surface, the initiative belongs to the Adult, but the outcome of most such games is predetermined by the Child, so a surprise may await the participants in the game”.

Typical hidden transactions often occur in the lives of alcoholics. Arriving at work in the morning with a hangover, this one informs others: “Oh, and I punched it yesterday. My head is splitting. ”Chief:“ Everyone has it ”(Fig. In Appendix 14).

We have before us a visible transaction Adult-Adult. In fact, the transaction is much deeper. Childhood state I am an alcoholic seeks condescension from the parental state I am a boss. As a rule, he receives a benevolent laugh and a condescending reply in response. Someone might laugh and say: "Yes, you are a lost person." This laugh at someone else's misfortune, so common in life, is sometimes called "the gallows transaction."

Questions to consolidate:

1. What is transactional analysis?

2. Who was the founder of transactional analysis?

3. What are the stages of the transactional analysis method?

4. Three states of a person. Their characteristics.

5. What do you know about the transaction?

Indicate one correct answer:

1. Transactional analysis is ...

2. A transaction is ...

A) analysis of the interaction of two or more people

B) a socially oriented psychotherapeutic method, the ultimate goal of which is the formation of a harmonious, socially adapted personality

C) the system of group psychotherapy, in which the interaction of individuals is analyzed from the point of view of the three main states of the self

D) a unit of communication, that is, the interaction of two or more people

3. The method created by E. Berne is divided into several stages (choose the wrong answer):

A) structural analysis

B) functional analysis

C) script analysis

D) analysis of psychological games

American psychologist Eric Berry(1910-1970) created an independent psychotherapeutic direction, which became widespread throughout the world under the name transactional analysis. Word transaction translated as interaction, and accordingly the concept of "transactional analysis" implies the analysis of interaction, and more simply - the communication of people.

Like all leading American psychotherapists, Berne has a broad background: he is a psychologist, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist.

As always, let's first look at some important biographical facts that will help us better understand the personality of the scientist (including what influenced its formation and led him to certain achievements).

His full name is Eric Leonard Bernstein. He was born in Montreal in 1910. He lived in Canada for the first 20 years. He loved his parents, but especially his father, who left a special impression on him. His father was a doctor, surgeon. He tried to help people not only with surgery, but in general with his medical knowledge, especially those who did not have money for a qualified doctor. In the future, Eric Berne (after moving to America, he shortened his surname in the American manner), he dedicated his first book to his father, writing the words on the title: "To my father, a doctor for the poor." He was very proud that his father, on his own initiative, walked around poor neighborhoods and helped people who could not afford a good doctor. He often took Eric with him. And he took this ascetic work of a real doctor in the spirit of our zemstvo doctors.

Eric was nine years old when his father died. For him it was a very big loss and a real psychological trauma. He writes little about it, but in the mentions one can feel the pain of loss. He grew up quickly and felt that he should take the baton of a doctor helping the poor.

Even during his visits to patients with his father, Eric realized how important psychotherapy is in the work of any doctor, what an important role communication plays in helping people, and that many patients suffer not so much from physical ailments as from a lack of communication, mutual understanding, especially with loved ones ... And all his further work was aimed at studying psychoanalysis and other psychological approaches, which made Bern an excellent specialist in providing scientific assistance to people in organizing the correct communication with each other.

After the death of his father, he begins to help his mother. His mother was a journalist and editor. She has to work very hard to keep her family together. From her, Eric took over hard work and a conscientious attitude to work. And therefore Bern's enormous work was not a burden for him, he worked easily, beautifully and enthusiastically. And at the end of his life, Bern wrote: "The art of living is to walk the earth as a prince, scattering ripe apples, and the art of dying is to eat your apple and tell others, 'Enjoy what I have left you."

But back to his biography. In 1935, Bern graduated from the medical faculty, which his father also graduated from in due time (he anxiously follows in his footsteps), but he is increasingly attracted by psychological problems. And, of course, within the limits of medicine, he goes to psychiatry to link psychology and medicine. The word "psychotherapy" was very little used then, especially in Canada. It was still in its infancy. In America, it developed faster than in Canada. In addition, Montreal was the center of a French-speaking province, where literature on psychology and psychotherapy was available in limited quantities and was increasingly in English or German. (I must say that psychiatry is a fairly young science, and psychotherapy is even younger.)

Bern perfectly expressed his thoughts, love for the literary word, he adopted a good style from his mother. At the age of 11, he began to write various stories (mainly for children), and, as an adult, he continues this passion of his - he writes popular science, and sometimes children's books (for the soul), which, it should be noted, enjoyed success. Apparently, then what he would later call a "scenario directive" was already taking shape. That is, a certain life scenario adopted by a person in childhood from loved ones (mainly in the parental family), which guides him all his life.

In 1941 he joined the Army Medical Corps as a psychiatrist. It was his army experience that contributed to his development as a psychotherapist. Recall that they went through the same Perls and Reich, who, in military hospitals, begin to encounter various post-traumatic events that could not be explained only from a neurological point of view. They start looking for other new treks. On the one hand, these manifestations could not be clearly attributed to the field of psychiatry, since the person did not show obvious deviations from the norm, on the other hand, there were phobias, fears, obsessive thoughts, various "obsessions". Now we can say that this is a psychotherapy zone.

This army practice school forced Berne to develop natural observation and intuition. With a large number of constantly arriving patients, there was no time left for theorizing and long thinking about diagnoses. Sometimes he had to quickly answer questions, the answers to which were not contained in the textbooks and in his curriculum, and in the shortest possible time to make important decisions, for example, about the suitability of patients to continue military service after hospitalization. Such conditions required a developed intuition and, on the other hand, contributed to its development. Bern understood this and worked in this direction, coming up with a lot of interesting exercises to develop it.

Berne, like Perls and Reich in similar conditions, begins to carefully study psychoanalysis, trying to find answers in it that were not given to him by traditional psychiatry and neurology. However, each of them (and each in its own time) discovers that traditional psychoanalysis also does not give exhaustive answers, therefore, having accepted many of its provisions, they begin its own modifications: Perls creates gestalt therapy, Reich - characterological analysis and body psychotherapy, and Eric Berne - transactional analysis.

You may face controversy about how the Russian transcription of the word "transactional" sounds correctly: transactional, transactional, transactional and even transactional. All of the above options are valid. For ease of use, transactional analysis is often referred to as TA.

Having created his own direction in psychotherapy, Bern, of course, remains a psychoanalyst (albeit a non-classical one). His famous TA scheme "Child" - "Adult" - "Parent" built by analogy with the psychoanalytic scheme "It»- "I AM "-"Super-I ».

Orthodox psychoanalysis consider TA a profanation of psychoanalysis, its unacceptable simplification, but it is this simplification that has helped incredibly expand the application of many psychoanalytic approaches.

Perhaps the "parental scenario" also influenced here: his father was a "doctor for the poor," and Eric wanted to make at least some of the approaches of expensive psychoanalysis available to poor people and to many psychotherapists.

Berne was the first to use the group version of psychoanalysis (again simplified).

He became involved in group therapy by accident. In the military hospital, drinking was strictly prohibited, but patients bought almost boxes of some kind of lotion and drank it. Berne did not like to complain to his superiors and threaten with disciplinary punishment and decided to conduct an explanatory conversation about the dangers of drinking lotion. And then the talent of a storyteller was revealed in him. The listeners came with a bored look, and left impressed and, unexpectedly for Bern, turned to him with a request to conduct such conversations with them on other topics.

They just realized that they were interested in communicating with this person. And no matter what topic he would talk about, they wanted to gather again in one company and feel the atmosphere of friendliness and warmth and listen to a wise man who does not yell at them, does not lecture them, but calmly talks, takes care of them. He did not just say that drinking (especially lotion) is harmful, he brought them to other problems, tried to show that even in their, here in this military, hospital life there are many interesting things that they pass by, that you can develop yourself , build interesting relationships, that each person can be read like a book, etc. And he realized that group work, if you create a good atmosphere of interaction, can bring success, which can not always be achieved in individual work. Later, he gradually began to introduce into this "talk therapy" with patients more and more psychoanalytic elements, which gradually took shape in TA.

After demobilization with the rank of major, Bern began a wide practice and at the same time he himself consulted with prominent psychoanalysts. Why? Well, firstly, because in civilized countries there are quite strict criteria for each profession. In particular, it is believed that you can become a psychoanalyst only after completing your own course of psychoanalysis, having experienced everything that your patients will experience.

But Berne's desire to meet all these professional requirements also coincided with the fact that he really wanted to better understand himself and his interpersonal problems. The fact is that by this time he already had three unsuccessful marriages.

He believed, like a real psychoanalyst, that the reasons should be sought first of all in himself, to see if he had similar algorithms for problems with different partners. Very often, when our children decide to divorce or part with someone, we rush to immediately take their position. And sometimes they have the same problem with other partners. This means that it is in them themselves, and as long as we blame others, we will increasingly make our children unable to find their own happiness. However, we often apply this approach to our own interpersonal problems, exacerbating them by our unwillingness to look for reasons in ourselves. Bern decided to find these reasons in himself through psychoanalysis.

However, it was this personal experience that served as one of the reasons for his departure from traditional psychoanalysis. He realized that he could not find the answer in him: “What is it about me that I cannot get along with anyone? It seems to be such a contact, patients love, colleagues love, students love, but in personal life it does not work. " He begins to look for an answer to this question for himself. It is those developments that a person creates when trying to solve his own problem are really strong, then the approach becomes practical, working, and not just a beautiful theory.

Berne believes that although psychoanalysis is more effective than traditional neurological and psychiatric approaches, it is still too schematic and the specialist must improve his own intuition more, but not just like that, but for a more creative application of the basic provisions of psychoanalysis, which must be freed from too rigid petty detailing. And he develops his own system for the development of intuition, and then (in the 50s) the so-called structural analysis. This is how Berne's original psychotherapeutic system is formed, the basis of which is theory of ego states.

Bern means that in each of us there are three ego states(as a rule, each person is dominated by one of them, but they can both change and interact). They are all present, but with varying degrees of severity. These are the "Child" state, the "Adult" state and the "Parent" state. Among them, only the “Adult” state is rational, which can be present in a ten-year-old child. What is it? State "Adult"- when a person thinks realistically (there is a realistic acceptance of the problem and a realistic attempt to solve it).

Our inner "Child" always categorical: "I want (I do not want), and that's it!" (Close to Freud's "It".) It is balanced by the inner " Parent"(" You should - you shouldn't "," You can - you can't "," Decent - indecent "). (Close to "Super-Ego".) And only our inner "Adult" (close to "Ego") looks at the situation realistically, trying to find a reasonable compromise between the states (requirements) of "Child" and "Parent". And yet, TA is not just a simplified analogy of psychoanalysis, but has an important difference - according to Bern, and Child, and Parent, and Adult- not different structural subdivisions of the personality, but different states of the same "I" (Ego-states).

Moreover, it must be said (and this is very important) that from time to time these positions can be quite healthy, because in us to some extent both the “Child” must be capricious and the “Parent” must read the notations. But the main thing is that the “Adult” should make the decision in the end.

If you only follow the lead of "I want", nothing good will happen. If you are guided only by "should" - formal principles "dry up" living relationships with other people and the person himself, "crush" normal life.

How many people, with their principles in the interests of raising children, actually alienated them from themselves or even ruined their fates! That is, the "Adult", calling the "Child" to consciousness, must also say to the "Parent": "Principles for man, not man for principles."

In 1960, Berne's book "Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy" was published. True, first, in 1957, he published a keynote article in the American Journal of Psychotherapy. This is remarkable. Why? Because in America there are many different psychological and psychiatric journals, but there are very few serious (academic) ones. Such publications have always had a very serious editorial board, and publication in it means some kind of recognition of the value of ideas and immediately draws attention to the author.

In 1964 Bern publishes his new book which has become very popular, including with us. And in 1966 his guide for psychotherapists appears. "Principles of Group Treatment".

Bern's book "What do you say after you say hello?" we called It is published together with the first, where the first part goes "Games People Play", and second - "People who play games". In this part, he reveals his so-called the theory of scenario analysis. That is, an analysis of a life scenario: why it came into being and how it can be corrected. (I must say that Bern also had a book "Sex in Human Love" but in Russia it remained little noticed, because, starting from the title, the book was placed on the shelves of sexological literature. And she, in essence, was also devoted to psychiatry and psychotherapy.)

Bern dreamed of creating such a psychotherapeutic concept that would provide a complete cure for a person's problem in a minimum of time. Therefore, his TA was often criticized as an unacceptable simplification of psychoanalysis. Berne did not hide that he was trying to make those psychoanalytic approaches that he considered effective and accessible. He named one of his books - "Psychoanalysis for the uninitiated". (It was also published in our country, written clearly, in good literary language.)

Despite his great popularity, only at the end of his short (60 years) life did he receive full recognition of his ideas, including academic, because the number of specialists applying his method in psychotherapy and psychiatry was growing rapidly.

Topic 6. E.Berne's Transactional Analysis

1. Model of ego states

2. Transactions

4. Games and game analysis.

Transactional analysis (from lat. transactio - deal and Greek. analysis - decomposition, dismemberment) is a psychotherapeutic technique of group and personal growth, proposed by the American psychologist and psychiatrist Eric Berne. This method of psychotherapy is based on the procedure for analyzing the structure of the personality. As personal structures, as interiorizations of social experience, the features and interaction of three states are considered here Me: "Parent", "Child" and "Adult"."Parent" represents the authoritarian tendencies of the individual, "Child" - a subordinate position, "Adult" - the ability to defend their own opinion and organize relationships with others on the basis of equal partnership.

There are several key ideas that underlie the theory of transactional analysis: ego states model, transactions, stroking, time structuring, life scenario and games.

1. Model of ego states

The practice of therapy of psychosomatic diseases in transactional analysis is based on a consistent theoretical approach, the basis of which is the belief that early decisions that a person makes in childhood about what scenario patterns of behavior, thoughts and feelings he should have can be changed. In transactional analysis, they say, "You don't have to be sick to feel better."

The main goal of this psychotherapeutic method is the actualization of the "Adult" in a person, personality reconstruction based on the revision of life positions, unproductive stereotypes of behavior, the formation of a new value system. In the process of therapy, the current psychological conflict and the influence of social factors must be taken into account.

This type of psychotherapy is based on a contractual method in which the patient and therapist are mutually responsible for achieving the goals of the contract. These goals are aimed at getting out of the script and achieving autonomy, receiving new Parental messages by the patient, creating an integrated Adult.

In addition, transactional analysis allows you to analyze the games of people suffering from psychosomatic disorders and the benefits (gains) arising from them. Winning all games is aimed, to one degree or another, at strengthening self-defense, gaining privileges, avoiding close relationships, and avoiding responsibility.

The basis of transactional analysis is ego state model("model RVD "). The ego state is a collection of related behaviors, thoughts and feelings as a way of manifesting our personality at the moment. The model describes three different ego states:

P - Parent's ego state: behavior, thoughts and feelings copied from parents or parental figures

B - the ego state of the Adult: behavior, thoughts and feelings that are a direct response to "here and now"

D - ego-state of the Child (Child): behavior, thoughts and feelings inherent in childhood.

The ego state model allows for a reliable connection between behavior, thoughts and feelings.

2. Transactions

The transaction takes place when I offer you some kind of communications(communication), and you answer me. The beginning of communication is called a stimulus, the response is a reaction. Berne considered the transaction "the basic unit of social interaction." Communication between people always takes the form of such chains of transactions. Transactions can be parallel (complementary), overlapping and hidden. Examples of transaction schemes are shown in Fig. 3.

Overlapping transaction B-B, R-D: S - stimulus, R - reaction

Overlapping transaction P-D, B-B: S - stimulus, R - reaction

Double hidden transaction:

social level B-B, B-B;

psychological level R-D, D-R:

S s, S n - social and psychological

incentives; P s, P p - social and

psychological reactions

Angular hidden transaction:

S s, S n - social

and psychological incentives;

P - reaction

Rice. 3. Transaction Schemes

3. Structuring time. When meeting people in groups or pairs, there are only six different ways to spend your time. Eric Berne gave the following definitions to these six types of time structuring: care, rituals, pastime, activities, games, intimacy. According to Berne, all these methods contribute to the satisfaction of a person's structural hunger. He proposes to consider six forms of social behavior - four main and two borderline cases:

At this pole, the borderline case is isolation, when there is no obvious communication between people. A person is physically present, but psychologically - out of contact, as if he is enveloped in his own thoughts.

Rituals are habitual, repetitive actions that do not have a semantic load:

informal (greetings, thanks)

official (diplomatic etiquette)

The purpose of this type of communication is to be able to spend time together, but without getting close.

Pastimes are semi-ritual conversations about problems and events that are known to everyone. It is always socially programmed: you can only speak in a certain style and only on permissible topics.

The purpose of this type of communication is to structure time not only for the sake of maintaining friendly relations, but partly social selection when a person is looking for new useful acquaintances.

Joint activity - interaction between people at work, the goal is the effective implementation of the task.

Games are the most difficult type of communication, because in games, each side unconsciously tries to achieve superiority over the other and to receive a reward. The peculiarity of games is the hidden motivation of their participants.

Proximity is the second borderline case. Two-way intimacy can be defined as game-free communication, which presupposes a warm, interested relationship between people, excluding the extraction of benefits.

Stroking is defined as a unit of a transaction. Stroking can be categorized as follows: verbal or non-verbal, positive or negative, conditional or unconditional.

Life scenario. V childhood, each of us writes his own script of life. We write the main plot in early childhood, before we learned to speak. Later, we just add details to our script. By the age of seven, the script is mostly written, and in adolescence we can revise it. As adults, we usually do not realize that we have written a script of life for ourselves, but nevertheless, we follow it exactly. Without realizing this fact, we arrange our life in such a way that we are moving towards the final scene that we defined in childhood. Along with the ego-state model, the concept of a script of life is the cornerstone of transactional analysis. It is especially important in psychotherapeutic activities. When analyzing a scenario, we use the concept of a life scenario to understand how people can unknowingly create problems for themselves and how they solve them.

Berne put forward the idea that even at an early stage in the formation of a script, a small child already has certain ideas about himself and the people around him. These ideas, apparently, remain with him all his life and can be characterized as follows: "I am OK" or "I am not OK"; "You are OK" or "you are not OK".

If we combine these positions in all possible combinations, we get four attitudes about ourselves and other people:

1.I-OK, you-OK;

2. I am not OK, you are OK;

3. I am OK, you are not OK;

4. I am not OK, you are not OK.

Ignoring in transactional analysis, it is the unconscious ignorance of information related to the solution of a problem.

World perception and distortion. Each person perceives the world around him in his own way, and your perception of the world will differ from mine. World perception is defined as a structure of associative responses that integrates various ego states in response to certain stimuli. The perception of the world provides a person with a holistic perceptual, conceptual, emotional and motor set, which is used to define himself, other people and the world around him.

To facilitate the understanding of this formal definition, it is suggested to consider the worldview as a "filter on reality."

Symbiosis occurs when two or more people behave as if they form one person together. People who participate in these interactions do not use all of their ego states. Usually one of them excludes the Child and uses only the Parent and the Adult, while the other takes the opposite position, remaining in the Child and blocking the other two ego states. When entering into symbiosis, its participants feel more comfortable. Everyone plays the role that is expected of him, but this comfort is achieved for a certain price: those in symbiosis block many of their abilities and capabilities inherent in them as adults.

Feeling of racketeering is defined as a common emotion, recorded and encouraged in childhood, experienced in a variety of stressful situations and not conducive to adult problem-solving. Racket is a set of scenario behaviors that are used outside of our awareness as a means of manipulating the environment and includes a person's experience (feeling) of the feeling of racketeering.

Games and game analysis. There are several characteristic features inherent in games.

1. Games are constantly repeated. From time to time, each person plays their favorite game, and the players and circumstances may change, but the pattern of the game is always the same.

2. Games are played outside the Adult's awareness. Even though people play the same games, they don't realize it. Only at the final stage of the game can the player ask himself: "How could this happen to me again?" Even at this point, people usually don't realize that they started the game themselves.

3. Games always end up with racket feelings for the players.

4. Players exchange hidden transactions during games. In any game on the psychological level, something very different happens from what happens on the social level. We know this because people play their games over and over again, finding partners whose games match their games.

5. Games always involve a moment of surprise or embarrassment. At this point, the player feels that something unexpected has happened.

Eric Berne's transactional analysis is at the same time an analysis and psycho-correction of a person's life, his destiny.
Each person is born with the ability to develop his potential for the benefit of himself and society, productively, creatively, work and enjoy life, be free from psychological problems ...

I greet you, dear visitors of the psychological office of Oleg Matveev, where you can ask a question to the psychoanalyst free of charge.
I wish you mental health!

In ordinary words, a little boy or girl lives in each of us.

In a mentally healthy, successful person, all three I-states of the personality live and work autonomously without conflicting with each other, the general behavior is under the control of the Adult.

In the case of an intrapersonal conflict, when the Adult loses power and is unable to regulate the relationship between the Parent and the Child, then the person has various deadlock situations leading to psychological problems: from bad mood to conflicts in relationships, depression, neuroses, psychoses and suicides (including protracted: alcoholism, drug addiction, smoking, overeating, workaholism).

The purpose of the structural analysis is to reveal the relationship between the self-states of the personality and to help a person realize and correct intrapersonal problems, for further adaptation and exclusion of structural pathology.

Transactional Analysis

Usually a person turns from one I-state to the same I-state of the interlocutor.
For example:
Adult - Adult
- What time is it? (stimulus)
- Three hours. (reaction)

Parent - Parent
- What a shameless youth today ... (incentive)
- And don't say ... (reaction)

Child - Child
- Let's skip school ...
- Will they not punish us?

Such transactions are called direct, when a person communicates like this, then conflicts are excluded.

But, transactions can overlap, leading to interpersonal tensions and conflicts. (see countertransference and transference)
For example: husband to wife
- Q-Q where is my shirt? (stimulus)
- D-R forever I have you to blame for everything (reaction)
or - R-D I have to keep an eye on your things, I'm not small myself anymore (reaction)

Such transactions are called overlapping transactions - they serve as the beginning of quarrels and conflicts, both at home and at work.

There are other sets of transactions that lead people to rupture of relationships, abuse and scandals. Often, really from scratch.

Human transactions in life

Man is a social being and cannot live without communication (transactions).

Conventionally, human communication can be divided into six types, which fill our life time, structure it.

Structuring time

Care-when a person refuses to communicate and communicates within himself.

Ritual- ritual, memorized or customary actions for a given culture or society, for example, greetings.

Pastime- communication idle: in bars, clubs, on the street, at the computer and TV.

Activity- any business, business, working relationship, including study.

Games- these are not games that amuse children, these are adults, as a rule, dishonest and sometimes cruel games that lead to conflicts, scandals, breakdown of relationships, and on a larger scale - to wars.

Proximity- Honest, trusting close relationships that are inherent in love and friendship. Initially, a mother's relationship with her baby. Something to strive for in the family and in other relationships.

Transactional analysis helps a person to understand the use of their time and in relationships in the family and at work, in society and within themselves. It helps you structure your time correctly and ensures successful communication and interaction.

Lucky person - person with structured time.

Scenario analysis

Based on parent-child relationships, parenting and transactions (parent programming); supported by children's fairy tales and stories, a person forms a life scenario, which he unconsciously follows throughout his life.

The scenario can be either a winner (if lucky with the parents), or a banal (undefeated), or a loser scenario (often tragic).

The goal of scenario analysis is to recognize the essence and origins of an unsuccessful life scenario, destroy it, or change it to a more successful one.

The best way- this is a complete liberation from the script, coming to freedom, autonomy of the individual, and the subsequent conscious alignment, by free choice, of his life path and the fate of a successful person.

So Berne's transactional analysis aims:
On knowing and understanding yourself, your personality;
Learning conflict-free communication, rational interaction and the ability to have close honest relationships;
Destruction of a tragic life scenario, and writing a new one, according to their own free choice.

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Transactional analysis (transactional, transactional analysis) is a psychological model that serves to describe and analyze human behavior both individually and in groups.

In the 1960s, transactional analysis developed out of psychoanalysis, primarily through the work of Eric Berne and a number of other psychotherapists. The popularity of TA is due to the fact that it is presented in simple and accessible language, and its fundamental principles are simple.

The functions of TA analysis are to help a person:

• Identify unproductive stereotypes of your behavior.
• Form a new value system and make decisions based on your own needs and capabilities.
• Understand the peculiarities of your interaction with others.
• Express your feelings openly.
• Learn to trust yourself.

Transactional analysis can be practiced anywhere - at home, at work, at school. In a word, where there are people. For this simplicity, he is loved and criticized. Indeed, according to many psychiatrists, qualitative changes are possible only under the supervision of professionals.

Three ego states according to Eric Berne

Eric Berne argues that at every moment in life, our thoughts, feelings, words, actions and reactions are determined by one of 3 possible ego states:

• I am the parent: contains behavior and attitudes adopted from the outside, primarily from parents. Outwardly, they are often expressed in critical and caring behavior towards others and in prejudice. Internally, they take the form of old parental admonitions.
• I am an Adult: the state is focused on the perception of current reality and receiving feedback. In it, a person is well-adjusted, organized, resourceful and acts, calmly calculating and evaluating his capabilities.
• I'm a child: in this state, a person contains all the motives that arise in a child naturally, as well as records of childhood experiences, positions and reactions in relation to himself and others. In addition, the creative manifestation of the personality is included.

Curiously, from time to time a person can exist in two of the three states at the same time, and their change can occur quickly and often. For example, in the morning in bed, many of us struggle between Parent and Child - one wants to sleep for another hour, and the second says it is time to get up and go to study or earn money.

This is not to say that one ego state is more important than the other. Rather, the harmony of states helps to remain a sane person, not to slip into moralizing, but also not to have fun beyond measure. Everything has its time.

The child can be:

Spontaneous... This is impulsive, self-centered, cunning and natural behavior.

Adaptable... Fearful, helpless, compliant and adaptive.

The rioters... Protesting, challenging behavior.

The parent can be:

Caring... Corrects, comforts, helps.

Critical... Criticizes, threatens, orders.

The adult plays the role of a kind of arbiter between the Parent and the Child. After analyzing the information, the Adult decides which behavior will be adequate to the given circumstance, which stereotypes can be abandoned, and which are desirable to include.

Although a full and happy life requires periodic changes in ego states, the most important is the Adult. It is he who should make most of the decisions.

How to find out what state you are in?

This can be done by observing verbal and non-verbal behaviors.

The child inside us, as a rule, uses phrases and thoughts: "I want!", "I hate", "It makes me angry", "What do I care". Outwardly, this manifests itself in a downcast gaze, trembling lips, an expression of delight, a shrug.

The parent is characterized by phrases and thoughts: “I’m not allowed”, “You are not allowed”, “I must”, “You must”, “Stop it”, “I would be in your place”. Outwardly, this manifests itself in shaking his head, frowning forehead, arms crossed on his chest, and a formidable form.

The main words and thoughts of the Adult: “Let's count”, “It is expedient”, “Where is the use?”. This is expressed in thoughtfulness, reflections, etc.

Transactions

Transactions are verbal and non-verbal interactions between people, the exchange of influences between the ego states of two people. They consist of stimulus and response. For example, a stimulus: "What are you doing here?"

Transaction types:

• Complementary(parallel): these are transactions in which the stimulus emanating from one person is directly complemented by the reaction of another. For example, stimulus: "What time is it?" supplemented by the reaction: "Half past seven". In this case, interaction occurs between the Adult ego states of the interlocutors. During these transactions does not arise and the interaction can continue for a long time.
• Intersecting(cross): conflicts and scandals are already possible here. For example, the husband asks: "Where are my cufflinks?", And the wife answers: "I am always to blame for everything!" The Husband sends the Adult stimulus to his wife's Adult, and her response comes from her Child. Such transactions begin with sharp remarks, mutual reproaches and can continue throughout the family life if both participants do not consciously decide to include Adults.
• Hidden: These are the most difficult transactions because they involve more than one ego state per person, since the message is masked by a socially acceptable stimulus, but the response is expected from the side of the hidden message effect. All of this is the basis for the development of psychological games, which were described by Eric Berne in his book "Games People Play." Many problems in family life can be solved if they are identified and corrected.

Stroking

Each Child within us seeks approval from the other person's Parent. Approval in transactional analysis is called stroking. There are three types of them:

• Verbal: In the form of compliments or praise.
• Non-verbal: nods, winks, gestures.
• Physical: shaking hands, patting the back, stroking the back.

We "stroke" a person either for existence (unconditional) or for actions (conditional). In this case, "stroking" can be positive (warm words, friendly physical touch, benevolent gestures) and negative (frowning, spanking, swearing).

Books

If you want to learn more about transactional analysis, check out the psychological games, read the following books:

• "Transactional Analysis and Psychotherapy" Eric Berne.
• "Games People Play. Psychology of Human Relationships ”Eric Berne.
• "Games People Play. People who play games ”Eric Berne.
• "Group psychotherapy" is a collective monograph of the clinic of neuroses and psychotherapy of the Leningrad Research Psychoneurological Institute named after V.I. VM Bekhterev and the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw.
• “I'm okay, you're okay” Thomas E. Harris.
• “Games that successful people don't play. Workshop on Practical Psychology ”Pia Billund, Kore Christiansen.
• "Techniques of transactional analysis and psychosynthesis" Irina Malkina-Pykh.
• "Professional communication training in psychological practice" Nikolay Vasiliev.

We wish you good luck!