Psychotherapy and Politics International (E-Journal)
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Transactional analysis and our philosophical premises: 70 years on
Get PDFThis article considers the origins and development of transactional analysis. The focus is on the philosophical premises that underpin the ideology of this theory. Accounting for social and political context, the writer reviews the times these premises were founded and their relevance in our contemporary international world
Migration as a risk and opportunity: Terrenuove's experience
Get PDFThe authors examine migration as an experience of breaking ties and as a loss of emotional, geographical and contextual points of reference. Displacement, particularly when it is involuntary, is a severing of the existing balance between individuals and their environment and involves seeking a new balance. The transition from one culture to another, from one reference group to another, can be an opportunity for a renewal and expansion of one's capabilities; yet, can also contain the risk of losing a sense of self, orientation, and freedoms and choices. This article delves into the impact of migration and paths of care and integration in Italy, in the context of the work of social cooperative Terrenuove. The authors examine the assumptions of ethno-psychiatry (Nathan, Sironi) and various influential authors (De Martino, Mellina, Papadopoulos) and connect them to Eric Berne's transactional analysis. The history of Terrenuove and the services that it has offered migrants over 20 years is described
Looking at activism through the lens of transactional analysis
Get PDFInspired by the catastrophic social unrest in Hong Kong, this article considers the political aspect of psychotherapy with a particular focus on transactional analysis. Concepts from transactional analysis such as ‘Discounting’ and ‘decontamination’ are considered in relation to working with political activists. Drawing upon her personal history, the author gives an overview of how one's political identity can be shaped by various external factors. For example, in the case of Hong Kong, how levels of socio-political involvement might reflect the varying degrees of environmental trauma experienced by individuals of different generations. In therapy, the author describes what activists might come to therapy for and how the political self of both the client and therapist might be presented in the room. By questioning some of the fundamental ideas of psychotherapy—namely, empathy and neutrality—the author invites the reader to think about the ethical implications of working with activists
An open letter to the psychotherapy and counselling profession: It is time to recognise the politics of training and practising with Tourette's syndrome
Get PDFIn this Note from the Front Line, a psychotherapist and counsellor writes an open letter to the counselling and psychotherapy professions, asking for recognition of the politics involved in practising as a therapist with Tourette's syndrome. The letter discusses her lived experience of the condition, including the experience of judgement and stigma she has faced from others in the profession, and asks how therapists can approach this issue and be better informed. Common misconceptions surrounding Tourette's syndrome are also addressed, and the author asks that therapists take better care not to perpetuate them. A call is made to recognise the politics involved and to advocate for a better understanding of neurodiversity to improve equality and diversity within the profession
Complex PTSD: From surviving to thriving , P Walker. Lafayette, CA: Azure Coyote Publishing, 2018. 374 pp. ISBN: 1492871842
No full textComplex PTSD: From surviving to thriving , P Walker. Lafayette, CA: Azure Coyote Publishing, 2018. 374 pp. ISBN: 149287184
Learning to “live upside down”: Experiencing the true and false self in psychotherapy training
Get PDFThe emergence of the true self is often a significant part of training to become a psychotherapist. Yet the challenge this presents, particularly in relation to the movement between a true and false self, has been largely unacknowledged. This study aimed to explore UK trainee psychotherapists’ first-hand experiences of this, in order to understand how the phenomenon is experienced and explore the impact on trainees’ development. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with five trainee integrative psychotherapists who identified with this struggle. Interpretative phenomenological analysis illuminated two superordinate themes: The tensions of psychotherapy training and “Dropping the shackles”: The journey to self-acceptance. Findings highlight the many challenges of the psychotherapy trainee, illustrating how a conflicting need to be “true” alongside an impossible prospect of letting go of adaptations induces shame and judgments. Findings also highlighted the liberating processes of letting go of old constraints through a journey of self-acceptance and awareness
Psychotherapy in the time of COVID-19 (psychotherapy changes shape and steps forward)
Get PDFIn this article, I articulate the challenges and reshaping that the global pandemic has brought to the practice and ethics of a relational transactional analysis psychotherapy. I describe the interweave of political, social and psychosocial contexts which have led to life-threatening emergencies within a society in which inequalities are endemic; and link the impact of these contexts to a relational transactional analysis practice using, as a compass, features of classical transactional analysis, radical psychiatry and feminist thought. I outline an approach to the work which accounts for the life-changing impact of the pandemic, which I call ‘the COVID Third’. Speaking from the experience of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, I imagine, other countries will have experienced different political situations but have associated emotional personal responses which are brought to psychotherapy
Human nature in peace and war
Get PDFThis article discusses the concept of psychoneurosis and its causes, and argues that, as a word applied to conditions of nervousness in the US Army (in the 1940s and 1950s), it was a term used primarily for statistical purposes. It distinguishes between two types of nervous (or psychoneurotic) symptoms and, with reference to a case study, shows the beginning of a psychoneurosis. Originally written between 1943 and 1946, it is reproduced with permission from the Berne estate
COVID-19, political communication, and public health: A Transactional Analysis perspective
Get PDFThe article discusses aspects of political communication during the COVID-19 pandemic, analysing it from the point of view of Transactional Analysis, and in particular, in the light of the so-called transactional analysis philosophical assumptions, transactional analysis proper and Claude Steiner's reflections on power. Using examples and an analysis of the literature, the article aims to show how sometimes political communication seems to be guided by hidden motivations that serve the purposes of power of some political representatives rather than the common good. In these cases, it denies the philosophical assumptions and determines negative effects on the health of citizens. Loyal Adult–Adult communication appears to be the most promising both to promote the Transactional Analysis philosophical assumptions and to address the direct and indirect consequences of the pandemic on population health
