Transactional analysis, according to Eric Berne.

Transactional analysis is a type of psychotherapy created by Eric Berne (1910-1970) that consists of considering transactions as the basic unit of social relationships. That means that in every social relationship there is, according to this author, a transaction. An exchange involving a stimulus and a response.

This model, which became widely popular, is implemented not only in psychotherapy but also in education, coaching, and in the organizational area. Berne focused on analyzing social dynamics and how the exchange between people works.

Thus he described different modes of transaction, depending on the stimulus and response of the people involved.

Eric Berne also transcended without a doubt due to the accessible and simple nature of his formulations, which facilitated reaching a more massive audience, and broadened the focus. Although he starts from psychoanalysis (he began his studies with Paul Federn, one of Freud's first disciples), this author incorporates other tools taken from humanism and cognitive-behavioral theory.

Psychotherapy based on transactional analysis has a greater focus on the present and aims to address the personal growth of the person who consults.

Ego States:

Transactions are analyzed as involved in the different ego states, each of which Berne defines as a coherent system of feelings and a coherent series of behavioral patterns. And he classifies them into:

• Father: This state resembles parental figures. The same state of mind and behavior performed by mother, father, or substitute.
• Adult: state-directed towards the objective appreciation of reality. He jumps to conclusions based on his own perception of him.
• Child: archaic relics, fixed from early childhood. The manner of reaction is the same as when the person was a child.

According to Berne, we all have these three states, and we can switch between them relatively easily.

Transactions are carried out between these states, between different people. That is, a stimulus can start from a person in the state of the Father, and receive a response from another in the state of Child. Based on all the possible transactions, the author describes and characterizes the different social exchanges.

At first glance, these three instances bear a resemblance to the Freudian instances of Superego, Ego, and It, although they do not correspond exactly from a theoretical point of view.

According to transactional analysis theory, the Adult is responsible for regulating the activities of the Parent and Child and is an essential state for survival.

The Child is also important because in him reside creativity, intuition, and the possibility of pleasure. But it can manifest itself in two ways: the adapted child responds to what the parents would have wanted, the natural child has these characteristics of freedom and creativity mentioned above.

The Father can manifest directly or indirectly. In the first case, the person acts as his mother or father did. In the second, the person acts as his mother or father would have wanted. This state also enables the individual in his role as father or mother for his own life and allows establishing certain behaviors and normative decisions that free the individual from trivial decisions.

The three states are extremely important, only when one of them is unbalanced is analysis and reorganization necessary.

This approach allows addressing the individual in relation to the balance or imbalance between these states and addresses their human relationships and personal development based on the interaction of these states with those of others in the social environment.

 

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