Your Life’s Script – Scripts in Transactional Analysis

Some lines of psychotherapy such as Moreno’s psychodrama, Jung’s analytical psychology and Berne’s transactional analysis use concepts and ideas that come from the theater. An interesting, lesser-known concept is Berne’s script of life.

As in the theater, in a film, in a soap opera, for Berne each person decides at some point in their existence a script, that is, a script for this central character who is the self.

Games and repetition compulsion

Another important concept in transactional analysis is that of games. They are brief social interactions, in which two or more people act according to patterns that can be described and observed in everyday life.

A common game is the “yes, but…” in which one person complains about a situation and the other tries to help by presenting a possible solution. The person who complains then says “yes, but…” and continues complaining. The interaction can be repeated several times until the person trying to provide a solution gives up.

Berne wrote a book called “What You Say After You Say Hello”. Because people interact with each other, and because many interactions cannot go deep or have a level of real intimacy, these games were created.

At the beginning of transactional analysis, Berne, who had a psychoanalytic background, was inspired by the concept of repetition compulsion to create the concept of a script, which would be like a bigger game, which would be repeated constantly, even if it was unpleasant or brought suffering.

The task of transactional analysis, in this sense, would be to discover the script, the repetitive script, and enable the person who sought treatment to be able to detach and be free to build a new script.

Transactional analysis assumptions

“First, we believe that people are born OK, that when they get into emotional difficulties they remain OK, and that their difficulties can be understood and resolved by examining their interactions with other human beings, and by understanding oppressive injunctions. and attributions made by others in childhood and maintained throughout life”.

Being OK means that the natural pattern of human beings is well-being. Even though we may experience emotional difficulties, this natural OK state remains as a base. It is a positive view of the human being.

The analysis goes in the direction of understanding interpersonal relationships. Especially in childhood and early adolescence, the so-called injunctions or attributions can mark the child, the adolescent, so that, as a result, a script is elaborated.

“Script theory is based on the belief that people make conscious life plans in childhood or early adolescence that influence and make predictable the rest of their lives.”

This is another important assumption in transactional analysis, that there is a decision at some point, even if that decision is made at an early age.

Script analysis

The purpose of script analysis is, therefore, to modify to a new, healthier and more adaptive script. As Berne says, “finish the show and put another one on tour”. An example that is often given is the script related to alcohol abuse or the so-called substance use disorder (other than alcohol).

Although we can understand that part of an addiction is explained by biological issues and neurochemical interactions in the brain, from the perspective of transactional analysis an addiction can be treated by changing the script associated with it.

A substitute script is often one related to spirituality, religion. AA, for example, which is one of the most successful treatment plans for alcohol abuse, brings in its second step the belief in a higher power.

In this way, instead of a script linked to substance abuse, the person changes the script of his life to a script linked to a spiritual, religious identity.

Conclusion

Transactional analysis is not well known or studied in psychology faculties. However, there are training courses that include training in identifying, changing and dealing with life scripts.

Behavior patterns (as in Jung’s archetypes), Freud’s repetition compulsion, Moreno’s roles in psychodrama are ideas that sought to identify why people continue to think and act based on rules that harm them and cause suffering.

Transactional analysis, therefore, is another perspective that aims to understand and transform so that people can once again experience the natural state of human beings, the “I’m OK” state.

References

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