Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy
“Awareness requires living in the here and now, and not in the elsewhere, the past or the future.”
-Eric Berne
WHO ARE WE?
Transactional Analysis is a personality theory which gives us a picture of how people are structured psychologically.
WE CAN CHANGE
Transactional Analysis is underpinned by the philosophy that people can change and we all have a right to be in the world and be accepted.
PEOPLE ARE OK
TA holds the belief that everyone is OK from birth. We all have value and are worthy of love and relationship.
THE PATH IS NOT SET
At any given time we make the decisions that are the results of our life experience. However, a bad decision does not set out the path, it only shows us where we started from.
How we are:
Have a look at these five Drivers and see if you can recognise yourself?
DRIVERS
The American psychologist Taibi Kahler identified five ways that we have learned to adapt to our environment when we were young.
These are called ‘Drivers’ and are developed as we are growing up, as a way to understand what is approved of and disapproved of by the grownups around us.
5 WAYS OF BEING
-Try Hard (this person will throw themselves at new tasks with commitment and enthusiasm…however the initial interest will wear off. They might sabotage or not finish these projects and will often be left feeling like they are not appreciated).
-Hurry Up (trust them to get the task done…they are efficient; however, the finished work might not be of highest standard. “That will do”, will be a sentence they will often say. Others may find them impatient, and they often don’t take the time to form bonds with others).
The five Drivers according to Kahler:
'Try hard'
'Hurry up'
'Please'
'Be perfect'
'Be strong'
-Please others/self (these people either gives up too much to make others happy or they solely focus on themselves. Someone who has a Please Others will make a great team member…but do you actually know them? Did they agree with everything you said? They are often left feeling invisible and uncared for).
-Be Perfect (despite what others say, nothing is ever good enough…assignments will not be finished as they simply aren’t perfect enough, deadlines are not kept. These people will be highly critical of themselves…and any criticism from others will just be piled on top of what they already believe).
-Be Strong (the one who never asks for help but also hates admitting to weakness. They often keep others at a distance and don’t show emotions. You can rely on them to keep calm under pressure, but it is difficult forming emotional relationship with them).
WHAT TO DO NOW
Working with a psychotherapist, you can learn why you developed this Driver and also how to navigate the strengths and difficulties this may bring you.
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