Transactional Analysis
Journal
October 2006
Abstract
"Transactional Analysis and Psychoanalysis II"
Volume 36, Number 4
Coeditors: William F. Cornell and
Helena Hargaden
Editorial
William F. Cornell and Helena
Hargaden
pp. 250-251
A Lost Connection: Existential Positions and Melanie
Klein's Infant Development
Ki Harley
pp. 252-269
This
article presents some links between the work of Eric Berne and that of Melanie
Klein before discussing Berne's theory of the four existential positions and
some later developments of this model. The author examines a lost connection
with Klein's theory on positions along with a Kleinian perspective on early
childhood development and psychopathology, which provided the inspiration for
Berne's positions. The article suggests that transactional analysis theory and
practice would be enriched by the addition of such a Kleinian perspective. This
argument is supported by case examples along with some clinical discussion. A
new interpretation of existential positions is proposed.
Inside Out: A Transactional Analysis Model of
Trauma
Jo Stuthridge
pp. 270-283
This article presents a
transactional analysis model of trauma located within a relational paradigm. It
proposes that the Adult ego state enables us to form a narrative self or
coherent sense of identity. Trauma interferes with this integrative capacity,
creating excluded ego states and a disorganized self. The child's experience of
abusive caregivers is internalized in a series of toxic Parent/Child ego
states. This inner world shapes the child's view of the world outside, leading
to patterns of transferential enactment that reinforce a traumatic script.
Therapy is concerned with developing the Adult capacity to create a coherent
narrative that allows the client to move from enacting to reflecting.
Lost in Translation: Neo-Bernean or
Neo-Freudian?
Stephen Karpman
pp. 284-302
This article
offers a historical perspective and novel insights into the theoretical and
organizational issues currently at play between the neo-Bernean and
neo-Freudian schools in transactional analysis with the hope of fostering the
ongoing preservation of theory and treatment diversity in transactional
analysis.
Treatment Considerations When Working with Pathological
Narcissism
Ray Little
pp. 303-317
The author presents his
understanding and experience of working with clients who exhibit pathological
narcissism. Some of the challenges that arise in the treatment process are
considered from a psychodynamic perspective, particularly how destructive
elements manifest themselves and impact the therapeutic relationship. After a
brief overview of various theories, the etiology of narcissism, transference
issues, and narcissistic vulnerabilities, the author focuses on pathological
processes, particularly destructive elements. The challenge of working with
these issues is described, including the way the defenses of the
narcissistically organized client are threatened by the separateness of the
client and the therapist. The article concludes with an examination of those
aspects of treatment that must be considered when undertaking psychotherapy
with narcissistic individuals, particularly from a relational
orientation.
The Relational Consultant
Servaas van
Beekum
pp. 318-329
The rise of relational transactional analysis in
conjunction with a reconnection of transactional analysis with its
psychoanalytic roots raises the question of the importance of these
developments for organizational consultants in transactional analysis. This
article explores what psychoanalysis and group relations offer to
organizational consultants. The focus is on three core aspects of
psychoanalysis: its perspective, the value of the object relations approach,
and the understanding of the role of the unconscious. From there three
contributions of psychoanalysis to consulting in organizations are elaborated
and integrated in a relational approach to consulting. The key is the
understanding of the role of the consultant as the "signifier of
transformation" (Bollas, 1987, p. 14), who, while working with a
client-organization, supports the organization in integrating its ways of
relating into its way of being.
Transactional Analysis and Psychoanalysis: Writing
Styles
Claude Steiner
pp. 330-334
The author compares the
languages of transactional analysis and psychoanalysis and argues that in his
break with psychoanalysis, Eric Berne took leave, primarily, of the linguistic
and therefore conceptual style of psychoanalysis. He sought to write, speak,
and think about observable phenomena with the use of verbs and concrete nouns
instead of adjectives and abstract nouns, which he characterized as "jazz."
This initial linguistic transformation profoundly affected transactional
analysis methodology.
Index for Volume 36, 2006
Compiled by Theodore
Novey and Robin Fryer
pp. 335-336
back to list of all
available journals
top of page
|
