Transactional Analysis

Transactional Analysis: NOUN; A system of psychotherapy that analyzes personal relationships and interactions in terms of conflicting or complementary ego states that correspond to the roles of parent, child, and adult.

Transactional Analysis is a therapy modality used to create growth and change. A man by the name of Eric Berne from San Francisco in the 1950's developed the concepts and tools of Transactional Analysis and introduced them to the public in his book "Games People Play." Berne referred to Transactional Analysis as social psychiatry, meaning a form of therapy or counseling used by every day people. The concepts of Transactional Analysis are simple, straightforward, easy to use and understand, user-friendly, and not full of medical terminology or psychobabble like most other therapies. The tools and understanding provided by Transactional Analysis can create positive change to people, relationships, and the work environment when applied.

Transactional Analysis is a theory of communications and interpersonal interaction. Sometimes the communications between two people have a hidden message, meaning, and agenda. The result of this hidden message is a game. The purpose of the game is to get a need met, without asking directly for what we need or want. People learn how to play these games to get our needs met as children, and they worked then. Now, as adults, they are the source of problems in our every-day relationships with ourselves and those around us, because things get much more complicated as our age progresses.

Transactional Analysis is also a theory on personality and psychological structure. The concept of the parent, adult, and child ego "states" also originated in Transactional Analysis. These ideas help people to understand, explain and change their behavior and have better relationships with others. Through these ideas, people begin to understand ourselves and how we operate, as well as others.