Transactional an. 003 062-03.doc

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TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS BULLETIN

VOLUME 1 ____JULY, 1962

Page

SCIENTIFIC PROCEEDINGS

SPRING QUARTER, 1962 ---------------------------------------------19

CLINICAL NOTES

TREATMENT OF AN AMBULATORY PARANOID - 21

J. P. Concannon

SOCIAL DYNAMICS

PAYROLL CHECKS & MENTAL ILLNESS - - - 22

W. R. Poindexter

THEORY

CLASSIFICATION OF POSITIONS - - - - 23

E. Berne

A LIVING PROBLEM -------------------------------------------------23

RESEARCH

TERMINOLOGY -------------------------------------------------------24

ADOLESCENT GAMES -----------------------------------------------24

J. Olson

NEWS FROM LOS ANGELES

FAMILY 'INTIMACY" ------------------------------------------------25

OBITUARY

G. H. CROOK -------------------------------------------------------25

ORGANIZATIONAL NEWS ----------------------------------------------26

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES ----------------------------------------------27


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T NSAC TIONAL ANALYSIS BULLETIN

Published Quarterly by

THE SAN.FRANCISCO SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY SEMINARS

A NON-PROFIT EDUCATIONAL CORPORATION

VOLUME 1 JULY 1962 NUMBER 3

The Transactional Analysis Bulletin will be published quarterly to keep activemembers, members at large, associate members, former students, and other interestedparties current with the scientific, educational, organizational and personal activities ofthe San Francisco Social Psychiatry Seminars. Subscriptions are sol ic ited from inst itut ionsand l ibraries at $3 per year (U.K. 18/-). All funds received from associatememberships and subscriptions will be devoted to continuing and enlarging theBulletin until it becomes. possible to publish selected short articles on transactionalanalysis and social dynamics. Subscriptions, enquiries, exchanges, and financial

contributions should be addressed to The'Transactional Analysis Bulletin, P.O. Box5747, Carmel, California.

ContributorsShort summaries of- newly discovered transactional games or other original

observations, brief accounts of clinical, scientific, or teaching activities, letters to theeditor, or. personal and. organizational notes should be - addressed to the Editor,Transactional Analysis Bulletin, at the above address. Such contributions areencouraged as the best way for members in various parts of the country to keep intouch with each other.

AdvertisingRates for classified and display advertising will be submitted on request. The

Bulletin reaches a select audience of professional people in the San Francisco Bay Areaand other parts of the country.,

Editorial and Circulation Assistant, Mary N. WilliamsTHE SAN FRANCISCO SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY SEMINARS

Directors 1961 - 1962

Eric Berne, M.D. Viola Litt, M.A.

Melvin H. Boyce, B.S.. Frances Matson, M.S W.

Joseph Concannon, M.S.W. Ray Poindexter, M.D.

Franklin Ernst, M.D. Myra Schapps, M.S.W.-

Kenneth V. Everts, M.D.

At Large

Claude Steiner, M.A., Ann Arbor

Barbara Rosenfeld, M.S.W., PhiladelphiaCopyright 1962, S. F. Social Psychiatry Seminars, Inc.


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SPRING QUARTER - ADVANCED SEMINAR - 202 - APRIL - JUNE 1962

Presentations which are of a specialized or advanced nature are brieflyabstracted. Those which relate to matters of wider interest are abstracted in more detailas separate articles in this issue. The abstracts and articles are written for professional

readers who are assumed to be familiar with the basic principals and terminology oftransactional analysis.

April 3. Joseph Concannon: "An Aggressive Ambulatory Paranoid Treated withStructural and Transactional Analysis."

See page 21.

April 10. Arthur Burton: "Existential Analysis."Existential analysis is difficult to formulate verbally. Words of interest to

transactional analysts (encounter, love, commitment, relationship, intimacy, anxiety,decision, insight, therapy) are apprehended intuitively rather than operationally.

Almost everything B said, however, was later translated operationally by the audiencein transactional terms. Existential analysts are struggling to free themselves from aweb of psychoanalytic concepts. Transactional analysts have laid these aside from thebeginning, so that they never hamper but are always nearby so that they areavailable when needed.

April 17. W. R. Poindexter: "Payroll Checks and Mental Illness." See page 22.April 24. Jacqui Olson: "Adolescent Games." See

page 24.

May 1. Josephine Belmont: "A Group of Patients on Leave from MentalHospitals." (Continued from December 5, 1961. See TAB No.1).

B demonstrated how such a group can be swung from stereotyped pastimes togame analysis by concentrating on the transactions rather than the content: 'Whatdo you expect us to say after you tell us that?" She successfully broke up a gameof "Ain't It Awful" by structura l and transactional analysis, a fter which the patientswitched to "Corner," which requires much more shrewdness and tenacity, and tothat extent marks progress. There are two empirical signs which indicate to thetherapist that she is involved in a patient's game, even if she cannot diagnose thenature of the game. (1) If she gives more than ten consecutive responses to thesame patient. (2) If she brushes off more than two interruptions from other patients.If either or both of these signs occur, the therapist should immediately withdrawand turn her attention elswhere until she has clarified the situation in her mind.The initial assumption should be that she was being Parental when she thoughtshe was being Adult. A quick survey of her vocabulary for words of more than twosyllables is the easiest way to settle this.

May B. Franklin Ernst: "A Therapy Group in Private Practice."(See TAB No. 2).

The members must be systematically corralled into concentrating on thetransactions taking place within the group rather than wandering afield as the spiritmoves them. The therapist's problem is how to speed up this process, and fromexperience he learns to use specific operations at appropriate times.

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SCIENTIFIC


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May 15. Gene. Sagas: "GestaltTherapy." (Tape. Recording)Gestalt Therapy deals with the "closure" of unfinished emotions, behavior which

needs to be completed before the individual can go on to other things. S's patienthad had -other types of t reatment , but this was her f irst Gestalt Therapyinterview. S quickly and smoothly brought her into a highly emotional state in whichshe was beating violently on a pillow to express her angry feelings toward her mother,which she had not_ previously recognized clearly. She also spoke her mind freely. Shedescribed the experience afterward as exhilirating, and almost like being reborn. S

described the procedure as a kind of play therapy with grown-ups, undoing theresults of old fantasies. Gestalt is a contractual form of therapy and is only used ifthe, patient wishes,

The Seminar translated the phenomena into transactional terms. It resemblesregression analysis except that the therapist remains Adult instead of playing therole of Child. The patient's Parent (in most cases) is regarded as the enemy and isexternalized in effigy. The patient's unconscious movements, postures, .andintonations are important to. observe, and give clues to the Child's attitudes. S'spatient learned that tense dorsal extensors signified Parental influence, and .henceknew now what to watch for.

May 22. (1) Frances Matson: "A Group of 'Alcoholics.The problem with Alcohol ics is how soon to insist on breaking up thepastimes in favor of game analysis, and how to accomplish that without ex-trudingpatients from the group.

(2) Eric Berne: "A Game of Schizophrenia."A girl of 20 described a classical severe obsessive compulsive syndrome and

behaved like a pre-catatonic. She failed to respond at times when spoken to, andhardly spoke above a whisper. At an appropriate time, B was able to say: "You real lyknow what you're doing when you behave that way, don't you?" The patient smiledand admitted that she did. She readily admitted to playing Psychia try, and said that,she might have played with him indefinitely if he had wanted to, but was glad

when he declined. From that t ime on she showed marked clinical and socialimprovement. She had had two previous therapists during the five' years of heractive illness.

May 29. Eric Borne "Depression and Despair"B's rather sophisticated group., readily understood from clinical material the'

distinction between depression as an internal dialogue between Parent and Child, anddespairas a phenomenon resulting from failure of games and. scripts, the non-arrival ofSanta Claus; they could feelthe difference. For example, one woman could notdecidewhether 'ornot ,to stay with herboy friend because to decide would mean to see theworld 'as it was and to relinquish hope of Santa Claus. One man could not commithimself to marriage because he had to be ready to leave at . a moment's notice' withhis Santa Claus, a buxom motherly woman who might appear at any time. The mailman as the fantasied messenger from Santa Claus was more important than thetelephone to these particular people.

June 5. Eric Berne: "The Classification of Positions. Seepage 23.

June 12. Eric Berne: "InitialTherapy, of Chronic Depression." (Tape)B attempts to cathect the Adult of a woman with chronic anxious depression. Her

daughter is blind and .crippled but much happier than the mother. The patientbegins to recognize her depression as partly an act of compliance toher

own mother and her. neighbors. Following this recognition she felt better, and wasable to discuss new possibilities for l iving.


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CLINICAL NOTESAN AGGRESSIVE AMBULATORY PARANOID TREATED WITH STRUCTURAL

AND TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS

Joseph P. ConcannonThe game aspects of psychoses have. been under continual study at the Seminars

since 1959, and have recently aroused interest in other quarters. It is nowestablished that paranoid schizophrenia is heavily game-ridden and can beapproached therapeutically from that angle with gratifying results.

A pa tient played a hard game of "Look What You're Doing To Me" with hiswife. He had her clothing and excreta analysed for evidence of extramarital activity,and held a gun to her head to force a "confession." With the therapist he playedthe corresponding pastime "Look What She's Doing To Me," and taught it to hischildren by cross-examining them about their mother's actions. The therapist declinedto play his part. He listened without comment when the patient read the writtenreports he offered as "evidence." but he refused to read them himself and insistedinstead on structural analysis of the patient's attitude. Once the patient coulddistinguish between his Adult and his Child, the therapist delivered an ultimatum:

either give up the gun, or discontinue therapy. The patient's response wasfavorable, and he asked: "Do you want me to turn in the axe too?"With further clarification of the Adult-Child boundary, the patient began to do

his own analysis of normal as well as paranoid transactions. He became wellenough to get a job, but broke down on reporting for work. This episodeconvincingly exposed his external delusional game of "Look What They're Doing ToMe as a cover for and exploitati on of hi s own phobias. At this point he abdicatedhis delusions, and spontaneously and sheepishly recognized that his game with hiswife had the same structure and function: it was a cover for and exploitation ofpremature ejaculation. Since he no longer blamed his occupational and sexualdifficulties on the intrigues of other people, he had to come to terms with what

he regarded as his own serious inadequacies. His solution "in all fairness" was topropose a divorce, but he accepted his wife's offer of a reconciliation with maritaltherapy. The therapist agreed on condition that the patient bring his Adult to thetherapy sessions. The patient consented. Currently the marital therapy is proceedingproductively and with good humor on both sides.

The patient is now able to throw some light on the evolution of his delusionalgame. In childhood, he suppressed his Adult because he feared that if he was self-sufficient his mother would desert him. From his father he learned to play WoodenLeg, exhibiting various kinds of inadequacies and disabilities to keep his motherinterested. With his wife, his paranoia served among other purposes as a WoodenLeg ("mental illness"); he felt that if he were well enough to hold a job she would

leave him. This was an additional advantage in holding on to his delusions.In this case, transactional analysis was able to proceed successfully in fairly well-

defined stages, from structural analysis through transactional analysis to gameanalysis. Current opinion among transactional analysts holds that the conventionalmethod of treating paranoia may encourage it in many cases. Firm game analysisdecathects the paranoid Child in favor of the rational Adult. Deconfusion of the Childcan then proceed productively. In this case, the patient was rel ieved to abandon h isgame and the delusions that went with it when permission to do so was given withappropriate timing and consideration.

(Editor's Note: It is pertinent to remark that Mr. Concannon's demeanoris good-natured and diffident to the point of self-effacement).

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THEORYCLASSIFICATION OF POSITIONS

E. Berne

The descriptive classification of games has so far failed to yield consistentclinical results. The repertoire favored by an individual patient cannot be predicted

by classifying according to number of players, sociology (middle-class, Italian,etc.), or even, surprisingly, by zone (phallic, anal, oral), or nosology (hysterical,obsessive, paranoid); indicating some conceptual forcing or artificiality in each ofthesesorting systems. The indications are stronger than ever that the natural classification willbe based on the patient's position, and that this is the fundamental variable ofhuman living. Position is based on a simple predicative absolute (e. g., "All menare evil." "All women are untrustworthy." "I am never lovable"). The position istaken in early childhood (third to seventh year) in order to justify a decision basedon early experience: e. g. "Never again will I love a man, because father beats meunfairly (when he is drunk);" "Never again will I love a woman, because motherdeserted me for my baby brother;" "Never again will I risk loving anyone because

mother showed me I was unlovable." On this position are based scripts and theirderivative games: e. g. Second degree Rapo, If It Weren't For Her, and They'llHave To Take Me As I Am, respectively.

Since positions are difficult to elicit and verify in clinical practice, it will takesome years to assemble the two or three hundred reliable examples necessary to forma useful empirical classification. Meanwhile a logical classification would be useful asa basis for a consistent theory of game analysis, and such a classification in fairlyrigorous form is readily available. The subjects ofall positions are particulars of thepolarity I-Others, and their predicates are particulars of the polarity OK - not OK. Thebasic predicates for all positions are then the following four:

1. I (we) am OK 111. You (They) are OK

11. I (we) am not-OK 1V. You (They) are not-OKThese predicates yield the cadre for all possible positions thus:

1. I am OK, you are OK 111. I am not-OK, you are OK11. I am OK, you are not-OK IV. I am not-OK, you are not-OK

Every game, script, and destiny then, is based on one of these four basicpositions. It is evident that only one of the four is intrinsically constructive (1); oneis futile and probably terminates in schizophrenia (1V); one is intrinsically paranoid(11); and one is intrinsically depressive (111). Derivative games would be (1) SuccessfulBusinessman; (11) I'm Only Trying to Help You; (111) Cops and Robbers; (1 V) Look WhatThey Did To Me.

A LIVING PROBLEM"The Tokyo Taxi"

It is difficult for the American visitor to remain counter-phobically impassiveduring his first ride in a Tokyo taxi. The available alternatives are to shrink into acorner in a state of acute apprehension, or to keep laughing all the way in fromthe airport. This raises several interesting structural-transactional questions.

(1) I f i t were you and there were other people in the taxi, would youcounterphobe, shrink, or laugh? Why?

(2) If someone else complained about a similar situation, would you advise himto counterphobe, shrink, or laugh? Why?

(3) If you would not advise him, state three reasons why not. Discard these, and

state a fourth reason, which must be original with you.

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RESEARCHTERMINOLOGY

As transactional game analysis (TGA) approaches the point where some liaison withmathematical game analysis (MGA) becomes likely, terminology takes on importance.It is therefore suggested that TGA use the same terms as MGA (*1, *2), viz:

A game is the set of rules which describes what happens, also called in TGAthe Thesis.A part icular instance `in which the game is played from the beginning toend is called a play of that game.

The set of appropriate stimuli or responses available to a player at any givenpoint is called his move. The actual behavior which he chooses to exhibit from this setis called his choice.

Thus_ a game consists of a sequence of moves, and a play consists of a sequence ofchoices. MGA sets up the game and considers the possible plays,

a deductive procedure. TGA, by observing different plays, tries to reconstruct theunderlying game, an inductive procedure.

The outcome of a game is called the payoff. In MGA the.. payoff is discussed in

terms of util ities for each player, but since this is admittedly an am biguous concept,, itis still permissible for TGA to speak in terms of the advantages accruing to each player.The utilities of MGA are essentially secondary gains which are on the borderline ofTGA. TGA - is primarily concerned with the internal and external psychologicaladvantages, the internal and external social advantages, and the biological andexistential advantages derived from games. The material utilities which are the chiefconcern of MGA are merely norms or points of departure for TGA. MGA considers theAdult-Adult transactions, while TGA deals with the hidden ulterior transactions whichin everyday life determine both the material and transactional payoffs. Where MGAconsiders the rules by which a poker playermay win, TGA asks how and why he breaksthose rules in the face of his winning resolutions so that he ends up losing. MGA

states what he might do to win, TGA says what he will do to lose:ADOLESCENT GAMES

Jacqui OlsonA group of unwed mothers between the ages of 13 and 19 met at a social

agency for a period of four months, during which they clarif ied many of thegames which are ,easy,. to recognize in working with adolescents.

(1).Making Mother Sorry. This was played in its second or medium degree - notsocially acceptable, but not fatal. If mother acts harshly about an illegit imatepregnancy, she.; cane be made to feel sorry by a suicidal attempt.

(2) You Can't Trust Anybody. If, father rejects you, you can find a boyfriend who will also reject you after you become pregnant. This proves that all menare untrustworthy. You are then justified in trying to trap the boy into taking theresponsibility.

(3) I'm A Typical Teen-Ager. I may have an illegitimate baby, but my realproblem is school, my hairdo, or the twist. If grown-ups become confused orindignant at this, I win.

(4) 1 Have a Problem (and you, as a professional person, are obliged tolisten). Similar to (3).

(5) Putting Up a Front. If your parents object to your boy friend's haircut, havehim get a "normal" haircut. Your parents will then accept him and after that thetwo of you can do as you please.

*1. R. D. Luce & H. Raiffa, Games & Decisions. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1957.*2. H. W. Kuhn & A. W. Tucker, contributions to the Theory of Games. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1950.

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(6) When I Grow Up. When I'm 18, I can do as I please, e. g., have my ownapartment. When she turns 18, the girl discovers that she has a fear of the darkand hence cannot live away from home. A variant of If It Weren't For You or HowDo You Get Out Of Here.

(7) When I Get a Job is a variant of (6). The members talked at length aboutwhat they would do if they had jobs. Five job openings were found and offered tothe nine members of the group. Five of them declined to apply. Four took jobs

and quickly got fired.

WS FROM LOS ANGELESFAMILY "INTIMACY"

The Los Angeles Institute for Family Neurosis Research is trying a policy of goinginto the home to do family group therapy at the dinner table. Dr. James Jackson,Director of Research, writes the Bulletin that "at the table families seem to playtheir most neurotically gratifying games. We teach them certain rules to follow atmeal times which are designed to prevent the enactment of the most infantile types

of games. The entire structure of the family relationships is, as a rule, improved."The rules are as follows: (1) No mention of food; (2) No chit-chat (jokes,recitations of activities, complaints by mother about children, discussions of currentevents, or planning family activities). The Institute finds that these rules expose the"family neurosis," supplementing office treatment, since "the families are playingsome of their most patholog ical games at home and not in the therapist's office."

Active members of our Seminars will recognize the procedure as allied to the"intimacy experiment" we have been carrying on for the past two or three years. Intransactional terminology, we interdict withdrawal, rituals, activities, pastimes, andgames, to confront the subjects with "intimacy." The Los Angeles Institute interdicts (1)conversation about the activity (eating) and hence games embedded in the activity;

and (2) pastimes and certain popular domestic games, such as "Ain't It Awful,""Let's Daddy and You Kids Fight," and "Then We'll." This tends to expose the moreidiosyncratic games of each family.

OBITUARY

On April 5, 1962, Guy Hamilton Crook, Ph.D., Associate Professor ofPsychology at the University of California Medical School, died after some years offai ling health. Dr. Crook never attended our seminars, but fol lowed their development from the beginning with friendly interest. He had a fertile mind, both

professional ly and privately. He was a redoubtable chess player and had anunusual sense of humor, and i t is for the latter that he would undoubtedlymost like to be remembered and that those of us who knew him would most like toremember him, as well as for his generous nature. These qualities, together withhis unruffled detachment from organizational rivalries, made him a favorite unofficialadvisor to the Langley Porter residential staff.

His two best known humorous inventions were "Medals and Decorations forPsychotherapists" and "Anatomical Lucubrations." Among the first were the

Aggressional Medal (for staf f members who speak up and say what they think) andthe Digressional Medal; the Residential Citation and the Interne's Cross (whichwears the interne, rather than the other way round); the Hot Air Medal (with Bluster

Cluster), the Expert Trifleman, the Supervisor's Meddle, and the ObfuscationDecoration.

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EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIESCourse 202, Applied Social Dynamics, will continue to meet every Tuesday evening at

8:30 p.m. until August 14 at the office of Eric Berne, M.D., 1200 Washington Street in SanFrancisco. Qualified visitors are welcome. It is suggested that they check in advance bytelephone, PRospect 6.4256, and they are requested not to arrive before 8:20 p.m.

The proceedings for the past quarter are abstracted in this issue of theBulletin. During the Summer Quarter, it is anticipated that therapy groups from

private practice and from various Bay Area clinics, hospitals, and institutions will bepresented for transactional and game analysis, interspersed with special lectures anddidactic-clinical discussions.

Introductory CourseThere are requests for the Introductory Course in Social Dynamics (No. 101) to be

given in Palo Alto as well as in San Francisco. It is therefore likely that there willbe two Introductory Courses next season, one beginning in late September and theother in late January . As soon as it is decided which will be given in Palo Alto andwhich in San Francisco, special announcements will be sent out so that enrollment canproceed. Those desiring to express a preference as to place and season may write to

the office of the Bulletin, Box 5747, Carmel, California. Both courses will be givenon Wednesday evenings at 8:30 and run for eight consecutive weeks.

Golden Gate Group Psychotherapy SocietyThe Seminars were well represented at the Fifth Annual Scientific Con ference

of the Golden Gate Group Psychotherapy Society held on June 9, 1962. The all-dayworkshop on transactional analysis was planned to accommodate a maximum of 25.The attendance was kept at that figure on a first-come-firstserve basis at themorning session. When 50 people turned up for the afternoon session, however, theprogram chairman relented and allowed us the privilege of admitting them all. Amongthe Active Members participating in the general scientific program were Jacqui

Olson, William Collins, Kenneth Everts, Franklin Ernst (Program Chairman), Eric Berne,and Joseph Concannon. Out-of-town members included David Kupfer, Richard Parlour,James Jackson, and Robert Goulding. Most of the rest of our active membership alsocame to l isten. Many others on the program and in the audience were formermembers and old friends of the Seminars.

EXTRAMURAL TEACHINGRegular teaching continues at Langley Porter Clinic, Stanford-Palo Alto Psychiatric

Clinic, California Medical Facility, Mendocino, Dewitt, and Stockton State Hospitals,and the V.A. Hospital in Roseburg, Oregon. Dr. Edward Setchko has been teachingtransactional analysis in pastoral counselling at the Pacific School of Religion. Dr.Howard Fradkin, who has introduced it into his curriculum at San Francisco StateCollege, reports that some of his students found the text hard going.

A recent development is the increasing interest among nurses. During the pastquarter, a six session introductory course was given for the teaching staff of theStanford School of Nursing, including representatives from the affiliated V.A.Hospital in Palo Alto. Our approach is also spreading among correctional officers,and an eight week course and consultation in transactional group therapy,

adapted for parole officers, was given for the staff of the San Francisco office of theAdult Parole Authority, including also some visi tors from Sacramento and otherfacilities.


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The Seminars

The San Francisco Social Psychiatry Seminars function as anstitute for people in the broad field; of social psychiatry: psychiatrists,psychologists, psychiatric nurses and social workers, correctional officers,social scientists, and educators. The teaching is primarily oriented towardgroup therapy and group work based on transactional analysis. Research insocial dynamics is carried on as funds become available. Since there is noendowment, the Seminars, now in their fif th year, have been almostentirely supported from tuition fees. Contributions are always welcome.

The Seminars are open to those with a degree in medicine or thesocial sciences. who are engaged in professional work in those fields or areregistered for advanced study at a recognized university. In certain cases,well-recommended undergraduates are eligible to attend. Professionalworkers are always welcome to visit the permanent clinical seminar (CourseNo. '202) which runs all year round, and can become Active Members, ifotherwise eligible,'. on completion of the Introductory Course or its

equivalent.

Active members who leave the San Francisco area or for otherreasons cannot continue regular attendance are invited to becomeMembers At Large ($10 per year, or $5 per year. for students). They willreceive the Bulletin and retain their attendance and voting privileges.

Professional workers who wish to receive the Bulletin and have theprivilege of .attending the Seminars whenever they 'are in San' Franciscomay become Associate Members ($5 per year), Subscriptions. to theBulletin are available to institutions and libraries at $3 per year.

The Seminars meet in mid-.week at 1200 Washington Street, San Francisco.Correspondence regarding attendance should be addressed. tothe Secretary,San Francisco Social Psychiatry Seminars, 529 - 28th Street, San Francisco 14.

Those desiring mail membership (At Large or Associate) may. f i l l in thecoupon below..
http://addressed.to/http://addressed.to/

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