This article describes shunning as a form of psychological violence similar to teasing or excluding. Bowlby's (1973) work on shunning is integrated with structural ego-state theory using Erskine's (1994) work on shame and self-righteousness and Clark's (1995) concept of disavowal to describe the development of a shunning Child ego state. A five-stage process of clinical treatment is suggested to help clients reestablish “I'm OK, You're OK” relationships, and the wider social context of shunning behavior is briefly considered.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BerneE. (1961). Transactional analysis in psychotherapy: A systematic individual and social psychiatry.New York: Grove Press.
2.
BerneE. (1972). What do you say after you say hello?: The psychology of human destiny.New York: Grove Press.
3.
BowlbyJ. (1973). Separation: Anxiety and anger. Volume 2 of Attachment and loss.London: Hogarth Press.
4.
BrummerV. (1992). Atonement and reconciliation. Religious Studies, 28, 435–452.
5.
BurlinghamD.FreudA. (1942). Young children in war-time.London: Allen & Unwin.
6.
ClarkF. (1995). Anger and its disavowal in shame-based people. Transactional Analysis Journal, 25, 129–132.
7.
EnglishF. (1971). The substitution factor: Rackets and real feelings. Part I. Transactional Analysis Journal, 1(4), 225–230.
8.
ErnstF. (1971). The OK corral: The grid for get-on-with. Transactional Analysis Journal, 1(4), 33–42.
9.
ErskineR. (1994). Shame and self-righteousness: Transactional analysis perspectives and clinical interventions. Transactional Analysis Journal, 24, 86–102.
