This article addresses the distinction between the subjective ego experience and the objectification of the ego experience. The need for such a distinction is demonstrated by case material, and the beginnings of the evolution toward a deeper understanding of psychic structure are described. These beginnings start with a consideration of the observable states of the ego, which have been metaphorically defined as the Parent, Adult, and Child ego states. The formulations of psychic structure, as presented in this article, illustrate how the work of Paul Federn, Eduardo Weiss, and Mary Edwards Goulding has influenced the author's current understanding of psychic structure.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BerneE. (1966). Principles of group treatment. New York: Oxford University Press.
2.
CrossmanP. (1966). Permission and protection. Transactional Analysis Bulletin, 5(19), 152–154.
3.
EdwardsM. (1968). The two parents. Transactional Analysis Bulletin, 7(26), 37–38.
4.
FedernP. (1952). Ego psychology and the psychosis. New York: Basic Books.
5.
GouldingM. M.GouldingR. L. (1997). Changing lives through redecision therapy (rev. ed.). New York: Grove/Atlantic. (Original work published 1979)
6.
JaynesJ. (1976). The origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
7.
GrootJ. Lampl-De (1965). The development of the mind. New York: International Universities Press.
8.
WeissE. (1950). Principles of psychodynamics. New York: Grune & Stratton.
9.
WoodsK.WoodsM. (1981). Ego splitting and the TA diagram. Transactional Analysis Journal, 11, 130–133.
