transactional analysis

noun

, Psychology.

1. a form of individual or group psychotherapy focusing on social interactions, psychological games, and analysis of relationships as persons shift among the roles of parent, child, and adult. : TA

transactional analysis

noun

1. psychol a form of psychotherapy that attributes neuroses to lack of balance in the personality between the conflicting ego-states of child, adult, and parent

Word History and Origins

Origin of transactional analysis¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

In 1967, Thomas Harris’s “I’m OK — You’re OK” popularized “transactional analysis,” a theory that focused on the role of the ego in individual social interactions.

From Washington Post

In recent years, there has been a movement to replace these hoary old sports stories with an atomized landscape of numbers, stats and transactional analysis — and its adherents harbor a healthy amount of scorn for anyone who thinks differently.

From New York Times

But from all these approaches – including humanistic therapy, interpersonal therapy, transpersonal therapy, transactional analysis and so on – it’s generally agreed that one emerged triumphant.

From The Guardian

“Games People Play: The Basic Handbook of Transactional Analysis,” by Eric Berne, spent two years atop the Times best-seller list and has sold more than five million copies.

From New York Times

The counsellor I worked with was trained in transactional analysis – she was great, we really focused on what the issue was … which helped me get my confidence back.

From The Guardian