Transactional Analysis

Practitioner and Certification

Become a TA Practitioner: Learn Transactional Analysis

The TA Practitioner program is administered through the USA Transactional Analysis Association (USATAA). If you are interested in this program, we recommend your joining USTAAA while you train at Southeast Institute for Group and Family Therapy.

Transactional Analysis (TA) Practitioners apply transactional analysis in a variety of settings including psychotherapy. A TA Practitioner sometimes rely almost exclusively on TA and sometimes integrate it with other modalities. The integration of TA and gestalt therapy is redecision therapy. We also offer certification as a redecision therapist. For psychotherapists using an eclectic approach, TA offers a solid base for integrating and understanding a variety of other psychotherapeutic modalities. Clients appreciate TA for the models and clear language it gives them to frame their own difficulties and challenges. The language, models, and understanding are often empowering to clients, allowing them to take charge of their lives in new ways.

An excerpt from TA Today by Ian Stewart, Ph.D. and Vann Joines, Ph.D.

Transactional Analysis is a theory of personality and a systematic psychotherapy for personal growth and personal change that was developed by Eric Berne, M.D. Among psychological approaches, it is outstanding in the depth of its theory and the wide variety of its applications. Transactional Analysis is practiced worldwide and has national organizations for training and certification in most countries.

As a theory of personality, transactional analysis gives us a picture of how people are structured psychologically using the three part ego-state model. Transactional analysis also provides a theory of communication that can be extended to analyze systems and organizations. Transactional analysis further offers a theory of human development. The concept of life script explains how our present life patterns originated in childhood. The concepts of Rackets and Games provide explanations of how we may continue to replay childhood strategies in grown-up life, even when these produce results that are ultimately self-defeating or painful. Transactional analysis provides a complete theory of psychopathology, diagnosis, and treatment.

In the area of applications, transactional analysis offers a system of psychotherapy that can be used with individuals, groups, couples, and families to treat all types of psychological disorders, from everyday problems of living to severe psychosis. It is also used in educational settings to help teachers and learners stay in clear communication and avoid setting up unproductive confrontation, It is further used in management, communications training, and organizational analysis to improve working relationships, problem-solving, and organizational efficiency. In fact, transactional analysis can used in any field in which there is a need for understanding individuals, relationships, and communication. It is one of the clearest conceptual frameworks for understanding psychological issues and how those can be changed.

The Philosophy of Transactional Analysis

The philosophical assumptions of transactional analysis are :

  • People are okay. This is a statement of essence rather than behavior. It means that each of us has worth, value, and dignity as a human being and deserves to be treated accordingly.
  • Everyone has the capacity to think.
  • People decide their own destiny in making early script decisions and these decisions can be changed.

From these assumptions follow two basic principles of transactional analysis practice:

  • The use of contracts to provide mutual collaboration and joint responsibility in the therapeutic or consulting process.
  • The use of open communication so that the client and the practitioner both have full information about what is going on at each step in their work together.

The Goal of Transactional Analysis

The goal of transactional analysis is the achievement of autonomy through updating the strategies for dealing with life that we decided on in childhood. Autonomy is defined as awareness, spontaneity, and the capacity for intimacy.

To visit the web site of the International Transactional Analysis Association go to www.itaaworld.org

For further information see TA Today: A New Introduction to Transactional Analysis by Ian Stewart, Ph.D. and Vann Joines, Ph.D.

TA Practitioner Certification

TA Practitioner Levels of Certification

Level I: TAP

Transactional Analysis Practitioner/ TA Practitioner Requirements:

  1. TA 101 Course or 6 hour Introduction to Transactional Analysis Theory
  2. Completion of four additional modules on the application of TA (or the Equivalent) (50 hours minimum)
  3. Endorsement of instructor that participant has completed all the approved learning objectives for the TA Practitioner Certificate.
  4. Apply to USATAA for Certificate & Pay Fee ($50)
  5. Taught by TAPI, CTA (with certification to teach the TA 101), PTSTA, TSTA, or Diplomate in Redecision Therapy with a TAPI Certificate.
  6. Awareness and agreement with the USATAA Code of Ethics

Note: Certified TA 101 Instructors may include additional material from the approved 101 Outline and may endorse the TA Practitioner as meeting International Transactional Analysis Association’s requirements for completion of the TA 101.

Level II: TAAP

Transactional Analysis Advanced Practitioner Requirements:

  1. TAP Certificate
  2. Awareness of and agreement with the USATAA Code of Ethics
  3. At least one academic year of supervision of the application of TA by a TAPI (who has training in supervision), PTSTA, or TSTA (50 hours minimum)
  4. Endorsement of Supervisor
  5. Apply to USATAA for Certificate and Pay Fee ($75) and be a member in good standing with USATAA
  6. Awareness and agreement with the USATAA Code of Ethics

Transactional Analysis Practitioner Instructor

Level III: TAPI Requirements:

  1. Be a TAAP
  2. Assist in teaching and supervising in two TAP Programs under the supervision of the TAP Instructor (TAPI)
  3. Endorsement of Supervising Instructor and Supervisor
  4. Apply to USATAA for Certificate and Pay Fee ($100) and be a member in good standing with USATAA
  5. Awareness and agreement with the USATAA Code of Ethics

CTAs with certification to teach the TA 101, PTSTAs or TSTAs may apply directly for the TAPI. Apply directly by sending an email to Vann Joines at vjoines@seinstitute.com. More Information http://www.usataa.org/levels-of-certification

Sign Up for a TA 101

The TA 101 offers an overview of transactional analysis. It also offers exercises for you to explore yourself and your life. Learn about how your history shaped who you are today, and how to change!

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