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PRINCIPLES OF TRANSACTION AL AN ALYSIS

Eric Berne, M.D. (F)

Lecturer in Psychiatry, Uni vers -i.-oy o.rCali .f ornia School of Mec.i cine
.
San Francisco
AJQ1'esS:
Box 2111, Carmel , Cali. fo .r r, i .~

Transactional analysis is a method df psychotherapy based on

observ,g:':. icn rather than interpretation, and 'y-vDich deaJ.s p.c j.marily
with beh avior rather than content. The unit of soc ~ a} . behavior
is c~ t,.;:' ;~1.n saction, consisting of a transactional ;:l timu.lus and a
trar. s 8J; t~ t ()n a l response.
These are treated as events :cather than
as s tat 8m8nts" It proceeds in definite phases wh i ch the patient
himself can follow intelligently. Structural analysis enables him
to distinguish three components in his own personality: Archaeopsychic, neopsychic, and exteropsychic, which are manifested as
Child, Adult, and Parent ego states, respectively. Transactional
analysis distinguishes which ego states are active in each par~i
cipGn t in a transaction or set of transactions. Game analysis
deals with those sets of ulterior transactions leading to a welldefined denouerr.en t, whi ch form the bulk of Meaningful acti vi ty
be t ween peopleD By this method the structure and social function
of sJrmptcms can be laid bare relatively quickly and in a way which
the properly prepared patient can easily grasp. Thi~ puts him in
~n advantageous position to substitute more constructive solutions
for h i s inner and outer problems.
Transactional analysis can be learned with more ease and precision than most other forms of psychotherapy; it has proven
!useful with all categories of psychiatric illnesses, and the re,sults are especially gratifyi.ng in those types of cases which are
,often refractory to other psychotherapeutic approaches: psycho:pathy, alcoholism, and mental retardation, for example. The
,.'principles can also be usefully applied in nursing, education, and
, correctional work.
References:

Transactional AnalYsis in Psychotherapy, Grove

New York, 1961.

P~ess,

Games Peo-ple Play, Grove Press, New York

(In Press) "