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What cognitive behavioural therapy means to me
Transactional Analysis – the first cognitive behavioural theory and therapy
What cognitive behavioural therapy means to me
When I was a psychology undergraduate, amongst the plethora of mirror-drawing, statistics and cat physiology, which were anathema to my quest to learn about the human mind, there were two theories I learned that made it all worthwhile. These were the basic Freudian theory of child development, personality and pathology, and the reinforcement theory - operant conditioning - of the experimental psychologist B.F.Skinner. Recalcitrant student that I was, I sought to appease my teachers by my expression of my enthusiasm for these two theories of mental functioning whose truths, it seemed to me, happily co-existed side by side, each available for providing appropriate understanding in different contexts. But bearing allegiance to both these theories only increased the irritation of my teachers towards me. These two theories, I was peremptorily informed, were totally incompatible with one another and I had better make up my mind to 'believe in' one or the other, or I would probably fail my exams.
The true believers in psychoanalysis dismissed operant conditioning as dangerous, mechanistic, simplistic, dehumanizing, trivial nonsense; while the committed experimentalists went to considerable lengths to persuade me that psychoanalysis was pernicious, unscientific, tautological, mythological rubbish. I got my degree by the skin of my teeth, breathed a sigh of relief, and from then on have happily defined myself as an anti-academic intellectual.
Then, in 1972, I discovered Transactional Analysis, the theory of Eric Berne, which instantly became the third psychological enthusiasm of my life. It was so clear, so precise, so concise, so tangible. I took up its practice as a serious hobby and two years later became a qualified Transactional Analyst and practising psychotherapist.
Only some time into my training in Transactional Analysis did I suddently realize that it was the brilliant amalgamation of psychoanalysis and operant conditioning that my unconscious had been patiently waiting to find. Transactional Analysis (TA) is the bastard child of psychoanalysis and operant conditioning. It is both 'hard' and 'soft', diagnostic and prescriptive, subjective and objective, holistic and atomistic.
The Origins of Transactional Analysis
Transactional Analysis is the brainchild of the American psychoanalyst Eric Berne who, in the 1950s and 1960s developed the theory out of his dissatisfaction with the slowness of psychoanalysis as therapy.
Psychoanalysis justifies its slowness in the name of the necessary prolonged process of accessing our infantile memories in order to resolve our neurotic conflicts. Berne argued that this process is unnecessary, and that here and now consciousness is quite sufficient material out of which our deepest problems can be accessed, addressed, and resolved. He remained, however, completely loyal to psychoanalysis as a theory of child development and psychopathology, so TA became essentially 'Freud without the unconscious'.
TA was the first “cognitive behavioural therapy". and fifty years on, TA remains an enormously popular psychological language, and is widely used in educational and business contexts as well as in psychotherapy. Berne's concept of 'games', as described in his best-seller, Games People Play, is now commonly used by many people quite unfamiliar with his work.
The Basic Concepts of Transactional Analysis
(This material is copyright, but contact me for permission to use it appropriately.)
Ego states.
In TA, our personalities are comprised of three components, the Parent, Adult and Child ego states. These are not roles, but states of being amongst which we move throughout our waking lives. Each has a structure and a function.
Our Parent ego state contains our beliefs and values, its function being to control and protect ourselves and others against impetuousness. Our Adult ego state contains our objective knowledge and skills, its function being to collect and process information. Our Child ego state contains our innate and conditioned feelings, its function being to express itself.
People vary in the relative dominance of each ego state in their total personalities, which accounts for human variety. But our psychological health and effectiveness is related to our ability to be appropriately in one or other of our ego states - in our Parent when signing a petition, in our Adult when doing our accounts, in our Child at a party.
Strokes.
A stroke, in TA, is any act of recognition that one human being gives another. We require a regular supply of strokes, as much as we require food, for our survival.
There are unconditional positive and negative strokes - 'I love you whatever you do to please or displease me' and 'I hate you no matter what you do to win my approval.' And conditional positive and negative strokes - 'I'll buy you a new pair of jeans if you tidy up your room', and 'Do that once more and I'll wallop you.' If we can't get positive strokes, we would rather get negative strokes -a kick, a put-down - than no strokes at all.
The prototype of all positive strokes is the unconditionally loving skin to skin contact we experienced at our mother's breasts. The closest we get to this in adult life is the ecstasy of sexual orgasm with a loving other.
Transactions.
Strokes are given and received in transactions between the Parent, Adult, or Child of one person and the Parent, Adult, or Child of another.
Examples:
- 'Shall we take the kids out for a treat this weekend?' (Parent to Parent)
- 'Could you tell me the time?' (Adult to Adult)
- 'I love/hate you.' (Child to Child)
- 'May I have another biscuit?' (Child to Parent)
- 'Yes you may.' (Parent to Child)
- Pupil to teacher: 'What shall I do next?' (Adult to Parent)
- 'Here, let me show you how to tie shoelaces.' (Parent to Adult)
- Girl to boy: 'You're so clever.' (Child to Adult)
- Mother to whining toddler: 'We'll soon be home and then you can have some lunch and a nice rest.' (Adult to Child)
But, of course, tone of voice and accompanying body language can override content in defining which ego state is speaking and which is being addressed. Try saying 'What's for supper?' in each of the nine ways.
Knowledge of these three concepts -ego states, strokes, and transactions - which are basic to the theory of TA, are enough on their own to greatly enhance people's self-understanding and effective communication. But there is much, much more, and I hope I have whetted your appetite sufficiently for you to read some of my books.