Hello I m Darren Magee and todays topic is looking at transactional analysis. If you like this video
if you find it helpful please consider subscribing to my channel for future updates on mental health
related topics. Now transactional analysis is a theoretical framework that is used in counselling
and therapy. According to Eric Berne the human personality is made up of three ego states
known as the parent, the adult and child. And these ego states are a system of thoughts,
feelings, and behaviours from which we interact with each other. It s the interaction between
them form the foundation of transactional analysis. To summarize it s, I m ok, you re ok.
The transactions refer to the communication and the interactions between people.
Transactional analysists are trained to recognize which ego states people are transacting from and
to follow those transactions so they can help improve the quality the effectiveness of those
behaviours and that communication. The aim is to help people understand which situations
and which kind of people trigger those states. For example, how do people respond when they
see an authority figures, or how do they react when they see someone who s in a state of need.
But looking closer at the three ego states, the parent state consists of memories and experiences
of a child. Now in the early stages of a child s life, the child accepts without question the
authority of the parent, don t play with matches, do as you re told, eat up your greens. Here let
me show you how. So when triggered, someone can find themselves acting as their parents or other
authority figures did when they were younger, so they will either be authoritarian, or they will be
kind and nurturing. In the child ego state, what we see are all the internal feelings, beliefs and
emotions that are linked to the child s early experiences, early development. For example,
I don t like it when mum and dad are sad or angry. I am happy when I m hugged. Or
what I just saw on television was scary. And in the child state, someone can feel
shame and guilt for maybe being selfish, or answering back or being hurtful to someone.
Or they can act like the rebellious teenager, do whatever they likes, no one is the boss of me.
It s like acting and feeling like we did when we were younger.
Lastly there s the adult state. Now this is the state where the child develops the capacity
to understand situations. To recognise what is different from what the parent state observes,
and, what the child state actually feels. The adult state is where someone can process
information and negotiate whether or not to accept it or reject it. For example, mum said I should
eat my greens, now I ve been eating a lot of junk food and I ve been putting on a lot of weight.
So perhaps she was right. Or, mum and dad said I shouldn t answer back, but I have a voice, I
deserve to be heard, I have a right to disagree. Now these interactions are normal. For example,
in the adult state someone may wish to learn a new skill, so they enrol in a course.
When they go into that course they go into the role of child, as they learn new things,
the person teaching the course is in the role of parent, sharing their knowledge and skill. Now
difficulties can arise when people are interacting from what s known as a crossed interaction. For
example, both parties are being parents, and when they re being parents it s like maybe they re both
experts at the same thing, maybe we see a game of one upmanship. One will continually push against
the other until the others goes into the child state. Or, perhaps both are in the role of child,
neither are taking responsibility, rebelling against each other or trying to push the other
one into the role of parent. Or sometimes you might have someone in the role of child,
trying to make the other person more like a child. For example, being on that course,
someone could be kicking against and everything the lecturer, the teacher is trying to teach them.
Because they re behaving as if they know better. Now in therapy, as much as the therapist is trying
to help strengthen the adult ego state, that s not to say that it s better than the other two,
none are good or bad. But it s in the adult state that we can problem solve. We can have a
realistic appraisal of what s really going on, not just externally, but internally as well. In the
adult state we can think very much in the here and now, we can problem solve,
we can accept things or we can figure out how to change them. And it s building on that awareness,
recognising how we move from state to state in different situations and in different interactions
with each other. Recognising it s not always the other person s behaviour, it could be our state
of mind that has us perhaps feel intimidated, or find it hard to say no, or the need to take
that authoritative stance. As in the parent role someone can feel more capable. In the child role
we may see someone who sees someone else as a parent, because we see them as more capable.
As I say, neither are necessarily good or bad but in some situations, it can lead to limiting
options, limiting beliefs and behaviours. In the child role we can feel helpless, innocent,
dependant on others to help us somehow, or again, behave in that rebellious way against authority.
Perhaps it sometimes has us feel carefree, not worry about the consequences. It s in the adult
state we may recognise powerful personalities, or see someone as more accomplished,
however that doesn t necessarily make them more powerful people. We learn to see
someone as needing help or support but recognising that is not the same as trying to rescue them. We
can learn to say either yes or no in a positive way, and give ourselves permission to change our
mind if we have to. We, in the adult state we start to see everyone, including ourselves as
equals. So that s a brief outline of transactional analysis. Now if you found this video helpful
please consider subscribing to my channel for future updates on mental health related
topics and until next time, thanks for watching.