ABSTRACT
The ego state model is just a theory ± a metaphor which is clinically useful. Although there are numerous sub-divisions of ego states, for ease of use the model is divided into three levels (orders) of structure (Berne, 1961) (see Figure 36.1, page 136). The three structural levels are arbitrary divisions of personality categorized according to developmental epochs. Third-order structure relates to very early infancy. Second-order structure relates to early, pre-school childhood and ®rst-order structure to later verbal stages of development. Sometimes beginning transactional analysts struggle to identify which level (order) of structure a particular experience of the client is located within. As the ego state model is just a visual and conceptual metaphor, identifying which structural level a particular experience is `in' is an imprecise science. Diagnosing the most appropriate level of structure is largely determined by what is clinically most useful. Working with each level of structure requires a slight modi®- cation in therapeutic approach although there are degrees of overlap and in practice issues are rarely located within only one part of an individual's structure.
