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Transactional
Analysis (TA) is a way of understanding
human personality based on the writings of
Eric Berne. Berne, a Medical Doctor and
Psychiatrist. One of its features is that
the human psyche is composed of three ego
states, which came to be recognized as the
Child, the Parent, and the
Adult. The Child takes
two forms: the NATURAL CHILD, who lives in
a world of feeling and whose favorite
expression is "I'd like…," and the
ADAPTED CHILD, who adapts either by
submitting or rebelling to avoid the
pressure of being molded and whose
favorite words are, "I won't," or "I
can't" or "but…" The Parent also
has two forms: the CRITICAL PARENT, who is
negative and judgmental, whose favorite
words are "Don't", and "Why" and "But..."
and the NURTURING PARENT, who give
Permission to feel, and Protection from
harm. The ADULT is like
a computer. It know what day it is, what
time it is, and is devoid of feeling,
dealing with reality as it perceives it.
Ego states may be
easily seen in the story of the Three
Bears. Papa Bear comes into the kitchen in
the morning and in a grumpy PARENT voice
says, "SOMEBODY'S EATEN MY PORRIDGE!" This
wakes up Baby Bear who comes on in
CHILD-like plaintive voice, "somebody's
eaten my porridge!" Mama Bear enters at
this point and says in an ADULT voice, "I
haven't cooked the porridge yet."
The core belief
of TA is, "It's OK with me to be me, and
it's OK with me for you to be you." This
has nothing to do with one's behavior. It
refers solely to the value of every human
being. For References
see: Eric Berne, Games People Play,
Muriel James, Born to Win, and H.
D. Johns, From Fear to Fury. For an
explanation of the GWITA Logo above please
click here. Accessing this web site in no way constitutes an implied or explicit contract for services between H.D. Johns and any person. Documents are for informal information purposes only. Please speak directly with a qualified professional regarding any specific health concerns you have. Copyright © by H.D. Johns, Ph.D., 2007, all rights reserved. |
