Transactional Analysis in Russia

An introductory speech from the editor-in-chief of the magazine «Transactional Analysis in Russia». The article also provides an overview of the content of the journal's summer issue no. 5 (2023).

This article discusses the basic components of a life script in relation to the sexual sphere of life and proposes an algorithm for writing a fairy tale that reflects a female sexual script, and also pays attention to the most important points for understanding a sexual script when analyzing a client's fairy tale metaphor. Taking into account the specifics of the topic, the author suggests an approach that allows bypassing the client's resistance: integration of art-therapeutic technigues (fairy tale therapy, work with metaphorical associative cards) and transactional-analytical structure. The article offers reflections on working with the sexual sphere through exploring images, as well as on the formation of a fairy-tale metaphor, and provides an algorithm for writing a fairy tale reflecting a female sexual life script, and also pays attention to the most important points for understanding the sexual life script when analyzing a client's fairy-tale metaphor

Imagination is a powerful tool that activates internal resources of a client, involves The Little Professor and affects emotions. This paper presents the overview and the analysis of the article by Aruna Gopakumar and Nikita Bandale about redecision methods that use imagination. It presents two stories of redecision therapy that uses imagination and imagery of a client as resources for change. Moreover, it provides the rationale for using imagination as therapeutic interventions, for both uncovering unconscious script patterns and inviting the client to make changes in order to use imagination with greater awareness in practice. Whereas a traditional redecision therapist thinks in terms of injunctions, impasse resolutions, games, analysis of a script process, a postmodern therapist focuses on the process of creating a new story or giving a new meaning to an old story of the client, where the child's autonomy was invalidated. In this method the new story comes to the foreground, while the old one recedes into the background and gradually fades away, giving the client an opportunity to make a new decision in favor of autonomy. Herewith stories are played in imagination, as if it happens «here and now», giving the client an opportunity to get in touch with feelings and experience an affect.

This article is based on the report at the SOTA conference (March 25-26, 2023) and is devoted to the study of ways of demonstration and manifestation as a psychologist in the space of social media, safely for this psychologist, clients, subscribers, readers, taking into account the need to exclude the risks of violation the code of ethics. In my opinion, the relevance of this topic is high, since many psychologists have a need to demonstrate themselves, but sometimes the ways that marketing offers may be a violation of ethical norms. In this paper I reflect on how to demonstrate yourself in social media relying on the concepts of Transactional Analysis, and how to realize the needs of a specialist in presenting him- or herself, whether it is a desire to share promotional and useful information, or to reveal him- or herself as a professional to potential future clients, or to receive recognition and be noticeable. At the same time, the novelty of my perspective is that in the article I analyze the ways to realize the need for presence in social networks, taking into account the uniqueness of the specialist. In particular, I consider how to run a channel, blog, website, account with pleasure and interest, thereby making social networking a safe process, both for the specialist and for readers, so that the ethical principles become not an image of a Controlling Parent, but a support and a way to help in taking care of yourself and your customers with respect. In this article, I rely on research in the field of Transactional Analysis by authors such as Eric Berne, Vann Joines, Ian Stewart.

This paper provides an overview of the article by Edward Zerin «The Four Racket Quadrants» (Zerin, 1980). Zerin assembled a «strike» of 15 popular concepts of Transactional Analysis, and a «delicious pie» consisting of four pieces of racket was born in his «therapeutic kitchen». According to the author of this article, Transactional Analysis tools are akin to a matryoshka doll. The biggest one is the OK Corral, then the drivers become visible, and the adaptations emerge; then comes a smaller matryoshka — the script matrix, and after it goes an even smaller one — the racket system. Edward Zerin, referring to each of the 15 concepts of Transactional Analysis, created his own method of client diagnostics based on a minimal set. His diagnosis scheme through the four racket quadrants is a powerful diagnostic tool that allows us to take a good look at a client's life script. Zerin gives us ready-made maps and an anatomical reference book, which the author of this article mentions. These methods can become, in the author's opinion, a good help for the practice of a psychologist using TA.

This is a summary of an episode of the podcast «3 People in Your Head», produced by Matt Taylor and John Flemming, which features a panel discussion of four Transactional Analysts. According to the authors, the main goal of this podcast is to promote communication and collaboration within the TA community, as well as to popularize TA in general. This panel discussion is a direct reflection of that goal. Transactional Analysis is a psychosocial model that encompasses nearly all human experience. Although it was originally applied only in psychotherapy, TA now has four areas of practice: counseling, education, organization, and psychotherapy, sometimes referred to simply as COPE. All four panelists, one from each strand, are TSTA or PTSTA, which stands for Training and Supervising Transactional Analyst or Provisional Training and Supervising Transactional Analyst, which means that they are authorized to train and supervise in Transactional Analysis. The question that the panelists answer is: what do you see as the future of TA in the four fields?

This paper presents a psychological analysis of the film August: Osage County (2013, director John Wells, drama, USA). The analysis is based on transactional-analytical concepts: injunctions, life script and personality adaptations. The author explores the relationship between the characters and analyzes their behavior using the terminology and ideas of Transactional Analysis. At the end, he asks the question: is it possible to get out of the script or do we inevitably follow the precepts passed down from our family?

This is a review on the book by Linda Gregory «Three Paths to Autonomy and Self-Actualization. Integration of Transactional Analysis, Spirituality, and Quantum Field». The author of the review analyzes the material of the book, namely the integration of the spiritual aspect with Transactional Analysis and quantum field theory. Also the reviewer writes about her own search path, similar to the path of Linda Gregory. This review describes the general content of the book, provides brief descriptions of the main techniques that are presented by Linda Gregory as recommended for achieving results: meditation and practice of Heart Math, necessary to restore and strengthen contact with the Inner Child.

This article is dedicated to the memory of Ken Mellor, a teacher and a supervisor of Transactional Analysis in psychotherapy, who passed away in July 2023 in Australia. Ken Mellor made a great contribution to the development of Transactional Analysis and to the emergence and development of a new field — Spiritual Transactional Analysis. He published many of his papers in professional journals including the «Transactional Analysis Journal» of the International Transactional Analysis Association (ITAA). This article focuses on his contributions to the expansion and development of Transactional Analysis and on the connection that he saw between the foundations of Transactional Analysis theory and spirituality. It describes his ideas and additions to Eric Berne’s ideas on autonomy. In one of his articles published in the «Transactional Analysis Journal» (TAJ), Ken draws on his spiritual experiences and practices to suggest specific steps that can be taken to arrive at autonomy. To the well-known components described by Eric Berne — awareness, spontaneity, and readiness for intimacy — Ken added another important component that Eric Berne had not written about.