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Psychotherapy Training, Counselling Training, Transactional Analysis Training, TA101 in Leeds, West Yorkshire

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What to Expect on the TA 101

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What might you expect on the TA101?

The TA 101 is known as the “official introduction” to transactional analysis.  What does official introduction mean? If you are thinking about coming on the course, carry on reading.

Transactional Analysis Theory

Well, first it means that you will be covering some of the key concepts in transactional analysis. You will then look at applying those transactional analysis concepts to yourself and your relationships.  You will gain insight into how you might be able to change some of your internal and external communications to gain more positive outcomes.

We begin with simple fun exercises to help the group to settle and get to know each other.  Feeling relaxed and comfortable is important in helping people to learn. The main format of the teaching is to present one of the models, followed by looking at real life examples.  Then you will engage in reflective exercises. These are mostly in small groups, applying the theory to yourself to see what you can learn about yourself.

Over the two days you will look at the underlying principles of transactional analysis.  You will consider what these then mean in practice and apply them to yourself. You will also look at 9 key theoretical models in transactional analysis.

When you have completed the 2 days, you will receive a certificate from UKATA, the UK branch of the European Association  for TA.

Informal Training

The style of the training is very informal.  We use lots of real life examples to help you understand the material.  The course is relevant to lots of different job roles.  For example  you might be a counsellor looking to develop an understanding of TA to use in your clinical work.  You might be a  teacher wanting ways to increase your effectiveness at work through understanding parents and children.  Or you might be from the world of business and coaching  wanting ways to understand staff better and improve performance at work.  For all these different roles Lin and Andy will look to find examples and applications of theory that are relevant to your work setting.

Counselling Training

If you are thinking of training as a counsellor or therapist then this course is a brilliant first step.  We will introduce you to what it is like to study a psychological model. It looks at what that means in practice and provide you a basic understanding of how TA is applied in a counselling or therapy setting.  It’s a great way to see if counselling training might be for you.

So, if you are interested in learning more about what makes people tick and some of the reasons why we do what we do then the TA 101, the official introduction to transactional analysis is a great course to really get some insight and the answers to these questions.

Favourite Quotes and Ideas about Ego State Theory

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child ego state

Ego state theory is one of the models in TA theory I use regularly in my work with clients and in supervision.  It’s one of the ideas in TA that immediately resonates with clients. In its simplest form it is easy to understand and apply to self with some degree of accuracy.  In this post I thought I would share some of my favourite quotes, definitions and ideas about ego state theory.

As many of you will know Eric Berne’s background was as a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. His work means that  transactional analysis theory has a psychoanalytic heritage.  Berne was familiar with the work of ego psychologists Fairbairn and Federn. They were writing about ego states in the 1950’s.

Berne’s significant contribution to ego state theory was that ego states are being experienced internally. In addition, categories of ego states have specific sets of behaviours that are consistent with these internal states. By observing patterns in behaviour, the therapist can begin to form a view of the ego state of the person.

Definitions, Quotes and a Few Important Terms

“Exteropsyche,neopsyche, and archaeopsyche are regarded as psychic organs. And which manifest themselves phenomenologically as exteropsychic (e.g. identificatory), neopsychic (e.g. data processing), and archaeopsychic (e.g. regressive) ego states.  These types of ego states are referred to as Parent, Adult, and Child.” Berne (1961 p23)

Transactional analysis’ psychoanalytic roots can be seen in this quote where Berne is referring to psychic organs. These are a metaphor or a way of describing a psychological or mental process. Mental processes which then show themselves in what he describes as Parent Adult Child.

Ego states:

“are coherent systems of thought and feeling manifested by corresponding patterns of behaviour.”  Berne (1974)

This particular quote highlights the link between behaviour as something that corresponds to a pattern of thinking and feeling. Therefore, if we begin to identify patterns in behaviour we can begin to understand the thinking and feeling.  This idea helps us begin to identify discrete psychological processes linked to stimuli.

Parent Ego State

A Parental ego state is a set of feelings, attitudes and behaviour patterns which resemble a parental figure.” (1961 p75)

“Parent is exhibited in two forms, direct and as an influence.” Berne (1964)

This idea of the Parent ego state as an influence, is highlighting that when the Child ego state is cathected there will be a part of Parent that is also active in the form of an influence.  An internally experienced replay of an aspect of Parent, possibly offering helpful structure or nurture or in the negative aspects of Parent, control and criticism.

“Parent ego states are an actual historical internalisation of the personality of one’s own parents or other significant parental figures as perceived by the child at the time of introjection.” Erskine (2003 p89)

Erskine is offering the view  that Parent content at the moment of introjection is as perceived by Child. This explains the punitive, critical and sometimes frightening nature of the content of Parent ego state.

Adult Ego State

“The Adult ego state is characterised by an autonomous set of feelings, attitudes, and behaviour patterns which are adapted to the current reality.” Berne (1961 p76)

“When in the Adult ego, a person is in full contact with what is occurring in a manner appropriate to that developmental age.  This neopsychic (current mind) function of the ego accounts for and integrates: 1) what is occurring moment-by-moment internally and externally, 2) past experiences and their resulting effects, and 3) the psychological influences and identifications with other significant people in one’s life.” Erskine (2003)

The idea of the integrating function. Adult draws on Parent and Child content and sifts it for usefulness and applicability in the current reality.

Child Ego State

“The Child ego state is a set of feelings, attitudes and behaviour pattern which are relics of the individual’s own childhood.” (Berne 1961 p77)

“Each person carries within a little boy or little girl, who feels, thinks, acts, talks, and responds just the way he or she did when he or she was a child of a certain age.” Berne (1974 p31)

“a system linked to the organisation of instinctual drives, basic needs and primary emotional experiences” (Tudor2002 p10)

Introjection.  Process of identification and internalisation of the experience of another including perceived thoughts feeling and behaviours.

Berne talked of Child as being about primary process, a psychoanalytic term used by Freud and as Tudor describes above instinctual needs and drives.

Contamination

Contamination of Ego states occurs when the solidity of the barrier around the Adult ego state breaks down and beliefs from the either the Parent or Child ego states, or both “contaminate” Adult ego state functioning. I.e. the person is using thoughts/feelings and experience from either Parent or Child to problem solve in the present without reality testing their relevance, accuracy and applicability.  This means that the Integrating function of the Adult is affected by unfiltered content.

Executive

Identifies the ego state that is the one that is in control. That is where the majority of the person’s energy is. It is also the ego state which is dictating the patterns of thinking feeling and behaviour.

What this hinting at is that we are rarely ever completely in only one ego state.  Often even though in the main it is the Adult ego state that is cathected, content in Child and Parent might be active. An example of all three ego states being active whilst the Adult remains in the executive:

Being asked to give a speech at the National TA Conference, I may be feeling a whole range of things:

  • confident and well prepared to speak in public
  • I will also be experiencing my Parent ego state giving me messages about “always getting things right”.
  • I can also, and at the same time, be nervous and scared.

So, these are some of my favourite quotes and ideas – what are yours?  What aspect of ego state theory do you make most of in your practice?  I’d love to hear from you.

And, if these ideas are new to you and you’ve found them useful then maybe you’d like to find out more.  Our TA101 course is a first introduction to TA and is a great beginning .

Contracts and Contracting

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Lin Cheung talks about contracts and contracting and their importance within the transactional analysis model.

What is contracting?

Contracting is one of the key principles of how we work as transactional analysts. As they say “If you are not contracting, you aren’t doing TA” This is a really interesting idea but what does it mean?

I think its about being clear about what we are doing and why we are doing it. And that its not just me that is clear about that but also the person I am working with. It applies across the board, whether we are in an organisation working as a coach, if we are doing organisational consultancy, if we are a psychotherapist, if we are a counsellor. Its about being clear and not having any confusion about what we are here to do and what the end outcome is.

Charlotte Sills uses the word ‘confusion’ and I really like that idea. What we are seeking is clarity. This doesn’t necessarily happen straight away and can often be emergent. Moment by moment we are seeking clarity – ‘What does this mean to me right now?’

Our clients often come to us, as psychotherapists, without a sense of what they are seeking and a big part of what we are there to do is to help them work it out for themselves and then to have a shared idea of the goals of psychotherapy and how we are going to get there.

That is contracting for me.

We explore contracts and contracting in our Foundation Certificate course which runs each academic year, September – July.