Transactional Analysis in Russia

This article is an experience of generalizing economic and psychological views on the meaning of money in human life. The article presents an analysis of some economic theories demonstrating the deep penetration of the concept of money into various aspects of human life, as well as an original view of the authors on how money can become a racket that provokes games and determines the roles and positions of a person in an organization. The authors give a brief outline of the emergence of money as a medium of exchange and transformation of the meanings that people began to give money during the development of human society, and also talk about how stimulus hunger, hunger for recognition and hunger for structure, described by Eric Berne, are associated with stroking and recognition in the form of money. The article examines the work of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky on the theory of perspectives and cognitive distortions related to money, research on human capital by Thomas William Schultz and Gary Stanley Becker, and other economic works. The authors analyze how behavioral economics research can reveal the meaning of games in organizations in a new way, what personal prerequisites contribute to a racketeering attitude towards money as a substitute for stroking and recognition, and why people may perceive other people as “means of production”.

This article presents a theoretical comparison of the concepts of the transactional-analytical approach and the features and aspects of gaming methods in psychological work with clients. The features of gaming methods, their possibilities for activating ego states of personality, the processes of reflection, decontamination, and the formation of a psychotherapeutic contract were investigated. Using the example of the practical case of the author’s game “Autonomy”, some concepts of the transactional-analytical approach were investigated, which can be found manifested in the process and results of the game. Empirical research has shown that the dynamics of ego states of personality are observed in the game, and if the stages of the game are built in a certain way, then it is possible to control the processes of movement of mental energy (cathexis) between ego states. In addition, a phenomenon comparable to the description in scientific works of the ego state of an Integrated Adult has been discovered. Quantitative analysis also showed that the dynamics of ego states in players is statistically significantly different from the dynamics of ego states of individuals who did not participate in the game and simply filled out the test to assess ego states twice with a time interval between fills. Clients can transfer the results of the “Autonomy” game to further psychotherapeutic work in the transactional-analytical approach.

This article provides an overview of the features of the schizoid adaptation dilemma using the example of the films “First Man” (dir. by Damien Chazelle, 2018) and “Ad Astra” (dir. by James Gray, 2019). The author talks about the specifics of schizoid adaptation — passivity, the way of structuring time, contacting one’s feelings and other people, the drivers and defenses used. The material contains quotations illustrating the author’s ideas from the works of Harry Guntrip and Ray Little, who were engaged in, among other things, the study of the features of psychotherapeutic work with this character structure. Relatively speaking, it is possible to put an equal sign in this material between “adaptation”, a term from the theory of personality adaptations in transactional analysis, and the term “character structure” within the framework of a psychoanalytic approach to personality typologization. The author describes the two main characters, Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), who are the bearers of this adaptation. The films use the setting of the cosmos as a metaphor for loneliness, remoteness and separation of the main characters from the inhabitants of the Earth, ordinary people. Interesting details are provided that reveal to us the nuances of the internal functioning of these characters.

This article is a detailed review of Linda Gregory’s book “Three Paths to Autonomy and Self-Actualization. Integration of Transactional Analysis, Spirituality, and Quantum Field”. We all strive for self-actualization and are in search of answers to deep existential questions: “Who am I? What am I like? What am I doing here?” Often, people are led into psychotherapy not only by a conscious desire to solve certain problems, but also by the desire for self-actualization and transcendence. This review highlights one of the disadvantages of the classical theory of transactional analysis — the focus on the cognitive understanding of a client’s problems and the almost complete lack of attention to the spiritual component. The author of the review, following Linda Gregory, talks about how important it is to integrate spirituality into the theories and practices of the transactional-analytical approach. Gregory suggests considering spirituality as a deep personal connection with oneself, higher consciousness and the universal quantum field, and also suggests using meditation as a way to establish contact with oneself and find answers to one’s existential questions.

Review of the book by Alla Dalit “Psychology for Life: Transactional Analysis in Words and Pictures”. The author of the review describes the main valuable points from the book, analyzes which readership this book is suitable for, and examines the main advantages of this publication.