Book Review: Transactional Analysis: A Relational Perspective

Aimed at practitioners with a high level of existing knowledge, Transactional Analysis: A Relational Perspective, does what it says on the tin. Hargaden and Sills are successful in providing the post-graduate reader with a clear, wide-ranging yet detailed exposition of the relational dimensions of psychotherapy within a TA frame.

For those unfamiliar with the fundamentals of TA this book will make for difficult reading for the first two or three chapters where it is complicated by the many diagrams linked to the various dynamics of the ego states. An existential practitioner, certainly one who has specifically moved away from the developmental and medical models, may well feel uncomfortable with the diagnostic underpinnings and treatment planning espoused by Hargaden and Sills. There is particular focus on Object Relations theory and the authors, uncritically, draw on evidence in neuroscience to add clout to their arguments for certain interventions, techniques and treatment plans, all of which are based on the developmental theory of self. A single caveat is offered: '… we might need to adapt our practice in the light of further evidence as it emerges' (p. 184).

While clearly out of kilter with a purely existential approach to psychotherapy, the reader will find many references to existential thought in connection to therapeutic practice, revealing the importance of acknowledging and working with the 'givens' in their relational model. The authors state, for example that, '…the provision of the empathic relationship…attains another level of importance as both therapist and client engage in an encounter with… the global container of unmitigated existential realities' (p.162).

Transactional analysis is underpinned by an existential/humanist maxim: I'm 'OK'; You're 'OK'. The 'I'm' bit is existential, the 'OK' is humanist. Sills and Hargaden are, I'm pleased to say, realistic about the leap of faith that such a maxim requires for this to make any sense. In fact they note that maintaining such a position is untenable if important work in therapy is to be done:

For transactional analysis, our insistence upon keeping the patient and ourselves OK could be understood as a version of…grandiose expectation. If we expect of ourselves that we be 'paragons of mature functioning'… then…we might be therapeutically ineffective in those instances where we are required to be emotionally responsive in the 'risky' area of hate. (p.74)

Hargaden and Sills are adept at weaving together many elements of theory that at face value seem incompatible. However, they offer, I believe, a wide range of possibilities for conceptualising the phenomenological world of the client and indeed the therapist. This I believe is a crucial element to the book. Both authors are very keen to assess their own attitudes and processes in-relation-to their clients, which reveals a responsibility and open-mindedness not seen in traditional TA or more objective models of therapy. Overall, this is a richly informative book and readers will be encouraged by the authors' reflection, honesty, and human approach to their work, regardless of which modality they may feel they 'belong' to. I would recommend this book to any serious practitioner who has an interest in how the 'nitty-gritty' of the relationship not only influences, but is central to, the process of psychotherapy. Without doubt, this must include the existential psychotherapist.

Neil Gibson

Reference

Taylor, C.C.W. (1998). Socrates: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.