Editing Transactional analysis (section)

==Outline==
[[File:TransactionalAnalysis.gif|thumb|right|Diagram of concepts in transactional analysis, based on cover of Eric Berne's 1964 book Games People Play.]]

Transactional analysis integrates the theories of [[psychology]] and [[psychotherapy]] because it has elements of [[psychoanalysis|psychoanalytic]], [[secular humanism|humanist]] and [[cognitive psychology|cognitive]] ideas.

According to the International Transactional Analysis Association,<ref name="Stewart & Joines, p3">quoted in Stewart & Joines, p3</ref> TA "is a theory of personality and a systematic [[psychotherapy]] for personal growth and personal change."

# As a [[Personality psychology|theory of personality]], TA describes how people are structured psychologically. It uses what is perhaps its best known model, the ego-state (Parent-Adult-Child) model, to do this. The same model helps explain how people function and express their personality in their behaviour<ref name="Stewart & Joines, p3"/> 
# As Berne set up his psychology, there are four life positions that a person can hold, and holding a particular psychological position has profound implications for how an individual operationalizes his or her life. The positions are stated as:
## I'm OK and you are OK. This is the healthiest position about life and it means that I feel good about myself and that I feel good about others and their competence.
## I'm OK and you are not OK. In this position, I feel good about myself but I see others as damaged or less than me and this is usually not healthy.
## I'm not OK and you are OK. In this position, the person sees him/herself as the weak partner in relationships as the others in life are definitely better than the self. The person who holds this position will unconsciously accept abuse as OK.
## I'm not OK and you are not OK. This is the worst position to be in as it means that I believe that I am in a terrible state and the rest of the world is as bad. Consequently, there is no hope for any ultimate supports.<ref name="Berne" >{{cite book|author=Berne, Eric|title=Games People Play&nbsp;– The Basic Hand Book of Transactional Analysis|location=New York|publisher=Ballantine Books|year=1964|isbn=0-345-41003-3|url=https://archive.org/details/gamespeopleplayp00bern_0}}</ref>  
# It is a [[communication theory|theory of communication]] that can be extended to the analysis of systems and organisations.<ref name="Stewart & Joines, p3"/>
# It offers a theory for [[child development]] by explaining how our adult patterns of life originated in childhood.<ref name="Stewart & Joines, p3"/> This explanation is based on the idea of a "Life (or Childhood) Script": the assumption that we continue to re-play childhood strategies, even when this results in pain or defeat. Thus it claims to offer a theory of [[psychopathology]].<ref name="Stewart & Joines, p3"/>
# In practical application, it can be used in the diagnosis and treatment of many types of psychological disorders and provides a method of therapy for individuals, couples, families and groups.
# Outside the therapeutic field, it has been used in education to help teachers remain in clear communication at an appropriate level, in [[counselling]] and consultancy, in management and communications training and by other bodies.<ref name="Stewart & Joines, p3"/>

'''Philosophy'''
* People are OK; thus each person has validity, importance, equality of respect.<ref name="Stewart & Joines, p.7">Stewart and Joines, p.7</ref> 
* [[Positive reinforcement]] increases feelings of being OK.<ref name="White & White, Talking TA">White, M. & White J. ''Talking TA''. (WPATA Publications, revised 1998)</ref>
* All people have a basic lovable core and a desire for positive growth.<ref name="White & White, Talking TA"/>
* Everyone (with only few exceptions, such as the severely brain-damaged) has the capacity to think.<ref name="Stewart & Joines, p.7"/>
* All of the many facets of an individual have a positive value for them in some way.<ref name="White & White, Talking TA"/>
* People decide their story and destiny, therefore these decisions can be changed.<ref name="Stewart & Joines, p.7"/>
* All emotional difficulties are curable.<ref name="White & White, Talking TA"/>

Freedom from historical maladaptations embedded in the childhood script is required in order to become free of inappropriate, inauthentic and displaced emotions which are not a fair and honest reflection of here-and-now life (such as echoes of childhood suffering, pity-me and other mind games, compulsive behaviour and repetitive dysfunctional life patterns). The aim of change under TA is to move toward autonomy (freedom from childhood script), spontaneity, intimacy, problem ''solving'' as opposed to ''avoidance'' or ''passivity'', cure as an ideal rather than merely making progress and learning new choices.