Transactional Analysis

Five Rivers has always embraced the application of Transactional Analysis within the organisation, our Head of Practice provides a clinical oversight for this therapeutic model to be applied within a psychoanalytical framework. Practitioners at Five Rivers are empowered to apply therapeutic communication at all levels of the organisation and throughout the practice environment.

The concepts of ego states within Transactional Analysis were originally created by Eric Berne (Berne 1970) ego states within their most simplistic form can be defined as Parent, Adult and Child.

Our practitioners are trained to recognise that these states have several sub systems and have different internalising, scripting and transference models that can be applied i.e. ways to act, think and feel dependent on behaviours that are being presented by the child or themselves.

Although the limitations of this form of psychoanalysis is that it does not necessarily focus on the unconscious state it is predominately focused in the ‘here and now’ as a form of Psychotherapy. The routes can be found originally in Freuds drive theory. (1905,1915) which considered the nature of basic psychological fundamental needs of humans.

With this in mind ego states are formed. (Klein 1998). Bowlby also supported and enhanced these views in the development of attachment theory (Bowlby. J, 1998) In summary Schegel (1998) describes this methodology as a combination of cognitive, behavioural and psychodynamic therapy.

Transactional Analysis within its simplistic form it is a accessible tool for practitioners regardless of educational or life experiences. When psychoanalytical thinking can be applied by the practitioner to Berne’s three ego states the practitioner is able to frame and observe behaviours and modify their behaviour accordingly to alter the clients state where appropriate.

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