Transactional Analysis

Brief History

Eric Berne, M.D., was born Eric Lennard Bernstein in Montreal, Canada, in 1910. He completed his education in 1935 at McGill University and his residency at Yale's Psychiatric Clinic. However, he experienced increasing frustration with the psychoanalytic approaches of the time. In response, he developed his own approach. In 1958, he published Transactional Analysis: A New and Effective Method of Group Therapy He later published the popular best seller Games People Play, and numerous other books, manuscripts, and papers. Berne subsequently founded the International Transactional Analysis Association (ITAA), continuing as a psychotherapist and writer until his death in 1970.

Basic Elements

TA is a psychosocial approach that uses a concept called structural analysis to understand the interactions or transactions that occur between individuals. Berne's observations during group counseling sessions led to his identification of three ego states that coexist within personality: Parent, Adult, and Child. According to the theory, all three ego states exist within the individual. Even young children have an Adult and Parent ego state. Transactions occur between ego states.

The Ego States

During Berne's early sessions, he noted that clients thought or behaved sometimes like children, sometimes like adults. Originally, he designated two ego states, the Child, named the archaeopsyche, and the Adult, named the neopsyche. Later, a third ego state was identified, that of the Parent, or exteropsyche. The Child denoted the creative, intuitive, and pleasure-seeking or sometimes rebellious nature of the person. The Adult formed the realistic, logical part of the person. The Parent was derived from introjection and identification with an individual's biological parents. Opinionated, judgmental and nurturing, often protective, the Parent completes the tripartite ego states that form personality: Parent (P), Adult (A), and Child (C) (see Figure 1).

The Parent state operates as a collection of prerecorded, judgmental rules for living. Like a tape playing in our heads, the Parent reminds us of the correct way to think, feel, or behave. It tells us how to react and how to live, right or wrong. When critical, as it often is, this state is known as the Critical Parent. When supportive, it is Nurturing.

The Adult state can be compared to a computer. Functioning in a factual, logical, and rational manner, the Adult faces facts and makes decisions. If the data are correct, the conclusion follows. If the facts are incorrect, the resultant answers are wrong. One of the key purposes of the Adult state is to provide a [Page 927]factually based appraisal of the effectiveness of behavior in the pursuit of goals. Contamination occurs when information from the Parent or Child state distorts the appraisal.

Figure 1 Parent, Adult, and Child ego states

Source: Adapted from Berne, E. (1964).

When in a Child state, individuals act like “the child they once were,” with the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors they once experienced. Individuals actually think, see, hear, and react as they may have as children. When the Child is thoughtful, imaginative, and creative, this is known as the Little Professor. When the Child is loving, hateful, or impulsive, this is the Natural Child. Guilt, shame and fearful states are identified in the Adapted Child. All three ego states—Parent, Adult, and Child—are important for healthy functioning; no single ego state should dominate the others.

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