Working with Unconscious Processes in a Short-Term Transactional Analysis Group

Abstract

This article describes short-term therapy in an experiential transactional analysis group based on applications of classical transactional analysis concepts. Using a case example, the authors demonstrate how this approach can be used to address both intrapsychic and interpersonal processes. They also propose a connection between the Freudian concept of “faulty acts” and impasse theory. Moreover, links are elaborated between intrapsychic and interpersonal processes in transactional analysis using the concepts of impasses, games, and transactions. The connections between psychoanalysis and transactional analysis concepts are described followed by diagnosis of the client's relational and unconscious dynamics so as to integrate the case material with the theory.