The Sting—and the Countersting

Abstract

I analyze the relationships of gamblers who were fortunate enough to have lasting relationships. The gamblers commonly began the game in a Rebellious Child ego state. They appeared to be the persecutor, but switched to victim. The gamblers' mates, who intially appeared to the victim, switched to the role of persecutor. The ego state switches of the gamblers' mates were from Compliant Child to Critical Parent. The payoffs for the protesting mates were excitement, vicarious living, and the maintenance of a comfortable interpersonal distance while avoiding the loner position. Considerations for treatment are provided in the dealer's plan. The focus is on helping both the gambler and the bad guy to relax, to experience themselves and each other at deeper and more enriched levels of human existence and to make redecisions about how they want to live their lives. The use of storytelling and indirect suggestion is incorporated into the transactional analysis approach in dealing with the chronic patient with well entrenched behavior patterns.