1. Understanding the individual

3. Transactional Analysis (T.A.) A psychoanalytic theory of psychology developed by psychiatrist Eric Berne in the late 1950’s Very useful for  Analysing interactions with others  Improving communication with others

4. Transactional Analysis: ~Essential Principles  People’s interactions are made up of transactions  These involve a stimulus and response

5. Transactional Analysis: Essential Principles Earliest transactions include Stimulus: I cry Response: I get fed Stimulus: I wet my nappy Response: My nappy is changed

6. Transactional Analysis: Essential Principles 3 Ego States:  Parent  Adult  Child

7. (T.A.) The Parent  Unconsciously acting in similar ways to our parents Can be:  Nurturing: permission, security, guidance  Critical: controlling

8. (T.A.) The Adult  Living in the present and responding to situations through rational thought.

9. (T.A.) The Child Unconsciously reverting to childhood behaviours  Primitive  Impulsive  Demanding  Creative

10. Transactional Analysis  Three Basic Concepts: Parent, Adult and Child  Transactions: Among P, A and C  P P  A A  C C  There are 9 possible transactions

11. Transactional Basis  Id – Pleasure Principle  Ego- Realistic Principle  Super-Ego- Ethical Principle

12. We Can be:  Child  Adult  Parent in our Transactions.  We shift from one ego state to another in transactions.

13. THE MIND  Id, ego, and superego Id: pleasure seeker  first division of the mind to develop  contains two biological drives: sex and aggression  id’s goal is to pursue pleasure and satisfy the biological drives Pleasure principle  id operates according to the pleasure principle  satisfy drives and avoid pain, without concern for moral restrictions or society’s regulations

14. THE MIND (CONT.)  Id, ego, and superego Ego: executive negotiator between id and superego  second division of the mind, develops from the id during infancy  ego’s goal is to find safe and socially acceptable ways of satisfying the id’s desires and to negotiate between the id’s wants and the superego’s prohibitions  large part of ego is conscious  smaller part is unconscious Reality principle  satisfying a wish or desire only if there is a socially acceptable outlet available

15. THE MIND (CONT.)  Id, ego, and superego Superego: regulator  third division of the mind develops from the ego during early childhood  superego’s goal is to apply the moral values and standards of one’s parents or caregivers and society in satisfying one’s wishes  moral standards of which we are conscious or aware and moral standards that are unconscious or outside our awareness

16. The Three Ego States  Parent- “Do as I do”  Child- “What shall I do?”  Adult- “I will be frank with you”

17. THE MIND (CONT.)  Anxiety uncomfortable feeling that results from inner conflicts between the primitive desires of the id and the moral goals of the superego id, superego conflict ego caught in the middle ego’s continuous negotiations to resolve conflict causes anxious feelings ego uses defense mechanisms to reduce the anxious feelings

18. THE MIND (CONT.)  Defense mechanisms Processes that operate at unconscious levels and that use self-deception or untrue explanations to protect the ego from being overwhelmed by anxiety Two ways to reduce anxiety:  can take realistic steps for reducing anxiety  use defense mechanisms to reduce anxiety

19. THE MIND (CONT.)  Defense mechanisms Rationalization  involves covering up the true reasons for actions, thoughts, or feelings by making up excuses and incorrect explanations Denial  refusing to recognize some anxiety-provoking event or piece of information that is clear to others Repression  involves blocking and pushing unacceptable or threatening feelings, wishes, or experiences into the unconscious

20. THE MIND (CONT.)  Defense mechanisms Projection  falsely and unconsciously attributes your own unacceptable feelings, traits, or thoughts to individuals or objects Reaction formation  involves substituting behaviors, thoughts, or feelings that are the direct opposite of unacceptable ones Displacement  involves transferring feelings about, or response to, an object that causes anxiety to another person or object that is less threatening

21. THE MIND (CONT.)  Defense mechanisms Sublimation Type of displacement, involves redirecting a threatening or forbidden desire into a socially acceptable one

22. Exercise: Have you ever been a ‘difficult’ client? Think of a time when you were very unhappy with a service you were receiving e.g. retail, hospitality, medical, etc.  How did you respond to this?  How were you treated?  How was the situation resolved?

23. What is a ‘difficult’ client?  The non-stop talker  The do-nothing client  The self-sabotaging client  The victim  The angry client  The boundary pusher  The chaos merchant  The aggressive client

24. What makes a ‘difficult’ client?  When your needs and the client’s do not coincide  When the client is unclear about expectations  When client has problems with managing socially acceptable behaviour  When client is stressed  When client is unwell

25. Four life positions  The phase "I'm OK, You're OK" is one of four life positions that each of us may take. The four positions are: 1. I'm Not OK, You're OK 2. I'm Not OK, You're Not OK 3. I'm OK, You're Not OK 4. I'm OK, You're OK

26. TA Life Positions  I’m not OK, you’re not OK ‘This is terrible, we’ll never succeed’

27. TA Life Positions  I’m not OK, you’re OK ‘I wish I could do it as well as you do’

28. TA Life Positions  I’m OK, you’re not OK ‘You’re not doing it right, let me show you’

29. TA Life Positions  I’m OK, you’re OK ‘ We’re making good progress here’

31. Shift in Ego States  Parent- “Why don’t you prepare a time-table?”  Child- “What is the point when one cannot follow it?” – Becomes an Adult.

32. (T.A.) Transactions 3 Kinds of Transaction:  Complementary  Crossed  Ulterior

33. (T.A.) Transactions Complementary: ‘What time is it?’ ‘Three o’clock.’

34. Types of Transactions  Complementary Transactions: Appropriate and Expected Transactions indicating healthy human relationships.  Communication takes place when transactions are complementary. A stimulus invites a response; this response becomes a stimulus inviting further response and so on.

35. (T.A.) Transactions Crossed: ‘What time is it?’ ‘Forget about what time it is, get that report finished.’

36. Types of Transactions (Con..)  Crossed Transaction: This causes most difficulties in social situations.  “May be, you should improve your teaching”.  “You always find fault with me whatever I do” Parent-Child interaction.

37. (T.A.) Transactions Ulterior ‘What time is it?’ ‘What time do you think it is?’ ‘Beer o’clock?’ ‘Exactly!’

38. (T.A.) Strokes Strokes are the recognition one person gives another  These begin in infancy as hugs  Later in life become more verbal/abstract

39. (T.A.) Positive strokes  Praise  Positive feedback  Compliments  Expressions of appreciation  Good reports

40. (T.A.) Negative strokes  Non-constructive criticism  Negative judgements  Insults  Expressions of disapproval  Bad reports

41. (T.A.) Games  Crooked or covert exchanges of strokes  Regularly repeated interactions with ulterior motives  Often the players of these games are not conscious they are doing this  But sometimes they are!

42. (T.A.) Games An example of games some Employment Consultants play: “I’m only trying to help you!” “What would you do without me?”

43. (T.A.) Games A good example of a game that we are all familiar with is: ‘Why don’t you/Yes but…’

44. How to stop the game  Stop making suggestions!  Review how your sessions with client progress. Need to change format?  Remember, within reason, some approaches are worth giving a second – or third - go

45. TA: How to use it  Be aware of your own ego state as well as the client’s  Try and stay in the Adult state  Be aware of any Games being played  If a Game is being played, find a fresh approach that seeks to engage the Adult in the client

46. T.A. Final Thoughts  Be aware of your own language/posture  Keep discussions result focussed  Beware going into Parent mode  Some attempts at rapport building may become parent-child interactions if you are being unconsciously patronising  Stick to the agreed Plan as much as you can

47. Typical Games  Between A shop keeper and a house wife:“ This one is better, but you cannot afford it”  Between A Teacher and a Student: “This is a good topic, but you cannot handle it.”  Between an Expert and a Candidate: “What you just said is totally wrong”

48. . Drama triangle  The drama triangle is a psychological and social model of human interaction in transactional analysis (TA) first described by Stephen Karpman,  The person who is treated as, or accepts the role of, a victim  The person who pressures, coerces or persecutes the victim, and  The rescuer, who intervenes out of an ostensible wish to help the situation of the underdog

49. Drama triangle  An example would be a welfare caseworker whose official function is to get clients off welfare and to support themselves with jobs. If the caseworker does anything to prolong the dependency relationship, she is not really helping but "Rescuing."  There may be subtle or overt pressure from her agency not to have too many successful clients.  For the drama triangle to come into full flower, one of the players must shift positions. For example, a Victim may become a Persecutor complaining of getting too much help, not enough help, or the wrong kind of help. A Rescuer may become a Persecutor, complaining that the clients don't appreciate her enough.  Officials at the welfare agency may take a role in the game, Rescuing staff and clients as long as they play along quietly but Persecuting any staff who start showing good results.

50. Transactional Analyst  Claude Steiner says: Claude Steiner... the Victim is not really as helpless as he feels, the Rescuer is not really helping, and the Persecutor does not really have a valid complaint.

51. ” Dreaded Drama Triangle (DDT)  Moving beyond the Dreaded Drama Triangle (DDT) and the roles of Victim, Persecutor and Rescuer and to cultivating the skills and abilities associated with the roles of Creator, Challenger and Coach that make up The Empowerment Dynamic. David Emerald “The Empowerment Dynamic

52. TED framework Victim = Creator. Persecutor = Challenger, Rescuer = Coach.  A Creator thinks what is long-term goal or vision is. Creators are outcome-oriented as opposed to problem-oriented.  Persecutor = Challenger is a person or situation that forces you to clarify your goal.  Challengers encourage us to get clearer about what it is we do want, then focus our efforts towards moving closer to that goal.

53. The Empowerment Dynamic  Instead of Rescuing someone, a Coach asks questions that are intended to help the individual to make informed choices.  A Rescuer, by definition solves a Victim's problems, which keeps the Victim powerless and dependent upon the aid of others.  A Coach asks questions that enable the individual to see the possibilities for positive action, to focus on what they do want instead of what they don't want.  A Coach uses compassion and questions to help a Creator develop a vision and action plan.  A Coach provides encouragement and support, in place of “rescuing” actions.

54. The Empowerment Dynamic  Coaches see victims as Creators in their own right and meet them as equals.  This process interrupts the drama cycle and puts the former victim in the powerful position of Creator where they make informed choices and focus on outcomes instead of problems.