We psychologists learn many different mentalities and systems about psychology throughout our education life. These structures are called schools. Schools emerged as a result of psychology being fed from both science and philosophy. Schools are the sum of thought patterns, systems, experiments, practices and treatment methods put forward by psychologists who shape the history of psychology. The most famous schools can be summarized as Psychoanalytic Psychology, Behaviorism, Structuralism, Functionalism, Gestalt Psychology, Cognitive Psychology. Today, an eclectic approach is adopted by many psychologists, resulting from the use of several schools together. In the eclectic approach, new (mixed) approaches and treatment methods suitable for the individual, which we call the 4th generation, are determined. Instead of trying to explain a behavior pattern with a single school, an individual-oriented treatment process comes to the fore.
Transactional Analysis is a treatment model developed by Eric Berne in the 1950s. Although the effects of psychoanalysis were seen in its creation, many different schools were used in accordance with today's eclectic approach. TA, which is accepted as a fourth generation systematic psychotherapy method, basically develops a perspective to understand human behaviors, communications and relationships. In other words, the communication sequence that occurs when the other person responds to the communication (it can be talking, smiling, complimenting or insulting) that one person initiates to get a reaction from the other party is called transactions. TA helps the individual to understand and regulate the communication established with himself and his environment by analyzing the transactions of the individuals according to the ego state of the individual (child, adult and adolescent). Therefore, TA allows the person to know himself as an individual and to strengthen his communication skills by analyzing himself and his environment. So what are these ego states?
According to Bern, each individual has three lower selves. To put it in a different way, we can say that there are three different parties within us and that they react differently to the events we experience. The name of the first of these sides is the Parent ego. is the agency. Parenting consists of behavioral patterns that we observe and record in our minds in adults (mother, father, older sister, older brother) who care for us in our childhood. Over time, we adopt these behavioral patterns and realize that we react to certain events and situations like them. Our parent side can be caring and compassionate, as well as being prescriptive and authoritarian.
The name of the second ego state is Child. The child consists of our emotions, thoughts and behavior patterns that we recorded between the ages of 0-7 and that accompanied us in this process. It is the emotional, reactive part of us. He can appear with a "natural" pattern in which he experiences his emotions freely, as well as having rebellious, dreamy, sullen, docile and harmonious behavior patterns. Our third side is called the Adult Ego State. It is the solution-oriented, decision-making, objective and common sense part of us. In other words, it can be called our wise side. Adult; Thinks, learns, produces logical and realistic solutions to problems, tries to stay away from possible problems that may be created by Child and Parent ego states. It is far from reactivity and emotionality, it is in the present, not in the past.
We sometimes respond to the events we experience during the day with our children, sometimes with our adults and sometimes with our parents. A healthy individual can use all three ego states in a balanced way. The communication patterns (transactions) around us are also shaped according to these three ego states. TA allows us to make sense of the ego states on the other side, both within ourselves and in our daily communications. In this way, it helps us to know our own selves and also to gain effective and efficient communication skills.
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