Communication failures are typically caused by a ‘crossed transaction’ where partners address ego states other than that their partner is in. Consider the above examples jumbled up a bit. Example 1a: A:  “Have you been able to write that report?” (Adult to Adult) B:  “Will you stop hassling me? I’ll do it eventually!” (Child to [...]

A simple, reciprocal transaction occurs when both partners are addressing the ego state the other is in. These are also called complementary transactions. Example 1 A:  “Have you been able to write the report?” B:  “Yes – I’m about to email it to you.”  —- (This exchange was Adult to Adult) Example 2 A:  “Would [...]

At any given time, a person experiences and manifests their personality through a mixture of behaviors, thoughts and feelings. Typically, according to TA, there are three ego-states that people consistently use: Parent (“exteropsyche”): a state in which people behave, feel, and think in response to an unconscious mimicking of how their parents (or other parental [...]

TA is not only post-Freudian but according to its founder’s wishes consciously extra-Freudian. That is to say that while it has its roots in psychoanalysis – since Berne was a psychoanalytic-trained psychiatrist – it was designed as a dissenting branch of psychoanalysis in that it put its emphasis on transactional, rather than “psycho-”, analysis. With [...]