ABSTRACT
Transactional analysis was conceived as a short-term therapy. Transactional analysis (TA), with its close observation of patients' behaviours, lies somewhere between CBT and the dynamic approaches. Erne Berne saw TA as a precursor to psychoanalysis. His first systematic description of its theory and practice was called "Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy". Berne did not live to see the development of TA in a direction that fully integrated the cognitive-behavioural aspects of his technique with his psychodynamic theory of personality. On the contrary, there has been a growing trend towards reclaiming psychodynamic roots as transactional analysts struggle to develop methodology for deconfusion and complete psychotherapies. A relational viewpoint starts with the first meeting, and remains a lens through which the work is seen. Benjamin, in describing a relational approach during a conference address, suggests that "being recognized by another mind" is crucial to the process of healing.
