BOARD nOtes

The New Home of the ITAAOnline: itaaworld.org

SCRIPTthe

vol. 42 no. 2

february 2012

international transactional

analysis association

s the New Year unfolded, a new era began in the life of theITAA. Our new website

opened up for members so they couldrenew their membership online, andthe members’ login area began operat-ing so members can manage their ownprofiles and directory details. Muchmore exclusive access to resources willbe thrown open to members throughthis feature in the months to come. Wehave a way to go in harvesting the ben-efits of technology and the Internet forour growth and development, but weare happy at this point to let our mem-bership know what has been going onat the back end over the last year.

At its meeting during the World Con-ference in Bilbao, the ITAA Board ofTrustees (BOT) resolved that the timehad come to pursue the purpose of theITAA with new vigor. Driven by themandate of the membership at theWorld Café a year earlier in Montreal,the BOT had set a new vision by stylingthe ITAA as a “worldwide professionalnetwork for the development of trans-actional analysis theory and practice.”This transformational move was madepossible by the immense opportunitythat the Internet holds for us toexpand and reach out to our membersand other transactional analysis col-leagues all around the world. Subse-quently, the decision to close the officein California and to end our contract

A

in this issue

itAAworld.org: the new

home of the itAA Online

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Memory and Authenticity:

the ethics of Memory

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encountering eric in China

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French-Language Website

Offers Wealth of tA

information

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in Memoriam:

Denton Roberts

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TAJ on Counseling

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with Ken Fogleman as a full-time staffperson was made possible by leverag-ing technology to meet our administra-tion needs. We found that the old web-site (www.itaa-net.org) was not techni-cally capable of taking up this new role.We had long talked about and hopedfor a new website, but now the needwas urgent.

Niraj Singh, who voluntarily developedand managed our website for the Mon-treal conference, came forward readilyto take up the challenge. Even thoughhe is not an ITAA member, and drivenby his personal dharma, Niraj decidedto and continues to offer his services asthe webmaster to the ITAA totally probono. He has, over the last severalmonths, worked tirelessly along with C Suriyaprakash and Ken Fogleman to build our new website (www.itaaworld.org).

Niraj Singh (left) and C. Suriyaprakash

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many members are already usingthe new site, the majority of themwith an open mind and a willingnessto accept that the transition in-volves a learning curve, new ways offunctioning, and some disruption tothe status quo. While there is somedoubt, occasional resistance, andnow and then a bit of panic as wemake these changes, we are certainthat we will, very soon, have a farbetter system in place than any-thing the ITAA has ever had before.

“We now have a front-end website

that can serve as a dynamic platform

by which members can share, refer,

discuss, and network and a virtual

office to manage our back-end

operations.”

S

CHENNAI, INDIA

9 TO 11 AUGUST 2012

HOTEL GRT GRANDfor Conference and Meetings

Organizers: ITAA and SAATA

Host: Poornam – Institute for Holistic Development

Early-bird registration has beenextended to 28 February 2012

We are pleased to introduce the third keynote speaker

for the Chennai conference.

SHYAM BHATon “Neither This, Nor That:

An Introduction to Integral Self Therapy”

Integral self therapy is a form of inte-grative transpersonal nondual psy-chotherapy. It integrates a self con-cept that comes from the philosophy

In the weeks and months to come,we want to involve you and to hearyour input and ideas about how tomake the site better. This is part of adynamic conversation between themembership and the ITAA Board ofTrustees that we have been seekingto foster for over a year now. Pleasevisit our new home and send us yourfeedback. We greatly appreciate yourpatience and your participation dur-ing this transition.

of nonduality (advaita) along withinsights from Western psychology.Shyam Bhat will review the theoreti-cal background of the subject andexplore topics such as nondual phi-losophy and how this pertains tousual self-concepts, the history ofpsychotherapy in the East and theWest, and the efficacy of differentmodalities of psychotherapies forindividualistic societies versus collec-tivist ones. He will also discuss someof the techniques of integral self therapy.

SHYAM BHAT, MD, is a psychia-trist, internist, and integrative medi-cine specialistwho lectureswidely on yogapsychology andtranspersonalnondual psy-chotherapies,including integral self therapy. Dr.Bhat writes columns for various mag-azines in India and has publishedwidely in journals such as the Ameri-can Journal of Psychiatry, the Journalof Clinical Psychiatry, and the Annalsof Internal Medicine. For more details,visit www.shyambhat.com .

The new site is built on robust open-source platforms content manage-ment and CRM platform. Wih thiscombination, we now have a front-end website that can serve as adynamic platform by which mem-bers can share, refer, discuss, andnetwork and a virtual office to man-age our back-end operations.

The Script has been successful in itsnew digital format, and back issuesare now available on the site forready reference. Soon we will havethe complete Transactional AnalysisJournal available through our web-site; members will be able to search,read, download, and purchase indi-vidual articles as well as backissues. In addition, we have a teamworking hard on digitizing severalaudio- and videotapes of mastertransactional analysts, includingsome of Eric Berne himself, to beavailable for viewing and download-ing online. We receive onlineinquiries every day, and these areresponded to by Steff Oates, secre-tary to the BOT, who forwards ques-tions directly to the individuals whohave the relevant information.

We are now also featured on Face-book, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Ourpublic relations committee, led byKaren Pratt and Mandy Lacy, isworking to make the best use possi-ble of these social networks in orderto reach our membership andbeyond on a daily basis.

All of this means that we are in themidst of a massive transition, soerrors, delays, and frustrations arebound to occur. We are pleased that

perspective

The following is an edited version of thekeynote speech presented by Bill Cornell atthe 5th Annual Romanian TransactionalAnalysis Association (Asociatia Romanade Analiza Tranzactionala or ARAT) Conference on 20 November 2011 inBucharest, Romania. The conferencetheme was “A TA Tool Kit for an Authentic Life.”

hen I was invited to give thiskeynote speech at the closingof the ARAT conference, I

was taken by the theme of authenticity.In transactional analysis, we have typi-cally stressed and idealized autonomy. Iwondered about the choice of authen-ticity as a theme and wrote OanaPanescu to inquire. She wrote back thatthe conference committee had consid-ered autonomy as a theme but decidedthat authenticity was a more complexconcept and had more meaning to theRomanian community.

Autonomy is about being separate,independent, self-governing—a veryAmerican ideal. Authenticity is some-thing quite different. What does it meanto be authentic? The thesaurus gives

War, but we tried not to letthat dampen our spirits too much. EricBerne was busy creating a new psy-chotherapy in the comfort of a safe andself-satisfied era, overflowing withAmerican ideals of self-fulfillment.Berne drove a Masseratti convertible—an automobile that cost more thanmany people’s homes.

It was the time of milk and honey, ofunquestioned prosperity in the UnitedStates. This was NOT what was hap-pening in Romania during those years.The grandparents and parents of mostof you sitting in this auditorium todaywitnessed the Soviets’ violent and arro-gant shredding of centuries-old culturaland religious systems, disrupting anddislocating families, their homes, andtheir ways of life. By the time Berne diedand transactional analysis seemed to beat the top of the heap of psychothera-pies in the United States, Ceausecu haddeclared himself the savior communistking, with Elena as his queen for alltime. For 2 decades and throughout anentire generation, the Ceausecusunleashed their madness throughout

these as synonyms: reliable, depend-able, trustworthy, trusted, credible,believable, OK, realistic, true-to-life,factual, real, honest. Authenticity hasmuch more to do with how we are inthe presence of others, how we bringourselves to one another.

And here I am, an American, talkingto a conference of Romanians aboutbeing authentic. Whose authenticityare we talking about? Is it always agood idea to be authentic? There havebeen times here in the not-too-distantpast when being authentic could getyou beaten, sent to jail, or killed. As Ithought about what I might saytonight, I found myself full of worriesand contradictions. I could not thinkabout authenticity without also think-ing about memory and history, but Iwasn’t sure what one had to do withthe other.

I’ve been thinking about what was hap-pening in the United States when EricBerne was creating transactional analy-sis. The country was at the peak of itspower. We were victorious in World WarII and felt like we were entitled to rulethe world. Our economy was robust andit seemed we could (and should) accom-plish anything we could want or imag-ine. Women were fighting for their placein society and the economy, blacks werefighting for their civil and economicrights, the hippies were smoking mas-sive quantities of dope and dancingtheir way across the country in barefeet. Of course, there was the Vietnam

Memory and Authenticity: The Ethics of Memory

by Bill Cornell

W

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Bill Cornell is a Teaching and SupervisingTransactional Analyst (psychotherapy),the winner of the 2010 Eric BerneMemorial Award, a former editor of The

Script, and a coeditor of the Transac-

tional Analysis Journal. He can bereached at wfcornell@gmail.com .

this city and across the nation. Dignity,safety, predictability, and tradition weresystematically destroyed.

As I have worked with many of you inBucharest and Timisoara these past 3years, I have been deeply touched bythe familial, social, and cultural suffer-ings that engulfed this country fordecades, starting with the Soviet take-over, the crushing totalitarianism, andthe psychotic powers of Nicolae andElena Ceausescu. For decades, throughthree generations, silence and deceitwere often essential for survival. Per-sonal authenticity was out of the ques-tion, out of this world. The silencesbetween generations have so oftenendured, meant perhaps to be protec-tive but also inevitably fracturing anddebilitating—crushing the possibilitiesfor authenticity and intimacy.

In preparing for this talk, I read articleson the generational impact of Nazi fas-cism (Heimannsberg & Schmidt, 1993),Soviet Communism (Merridale, 2000;Miller, 1998), and eastern Europeantotalitarianism (Lindy & Lifton, 2001),which have helped me form an under-standing of what I needed to say today.Introducing their book of essays reflect-ing on “The Psychological Symptoms ofthe Nazi Heritage,” Barbara Heimanns-berg and Christoph Schmidt wrote:

The questions of the children totheir parents—“What did you doback then?”—go unanswered,and the children have learnedearly on not to ask such touchyquestions in the first place. Hor-ror, guilt, and suffering are allhard to bear, scarcely to be namedor spoken of. But silence is para-lyzing, and the things which havebeen kept secret and repressedreturn in other forms. (p. 3)

From my earliest days of training intransactional analysis, I have beenreading the work of Robert Jay Lifton, apsychiatrist and psychoanalyst. I was

which they wrote about as a powerfulblock to communication between par-ents and children, between generations,around the history and issues most cen-tral to the establishment of a coherentsense of identity. They described howthese lies and silences “hide the epi-demic of the traumatic losses of parentsand grandparents” (p. 200). It can feelto a child that it is an act of crueltytoward one’s parents to want to crossthis gap, to break the silence, to wantthe truth, the emotional truths, of theirlives and suffering.

Silence. As a psychotherapist, I think ofthe silence between generations. I thinkof the many examples I have encoun-tered in my work here. And I think of myown family.

As I began imagining this talk, I thoughtof an incident from several years agowith a client, a university professor, whogrew up in Germany after World War II.He came into treatment because of adisabling depression that was un-touched by medication. He was filledwith debilitating anxiety and self-

loathing. He had been brutally treatedby his father, but he refused to talkabout it—the past was the past, heinsisted. I knew from the family historythat I had obtained when we beganworking together that his father hadbeen drafted into the German infantry at17 and spent 9 years fighting, includingthe assault on Stalingrad, one of themost brutal campaigns of a brutal war.One day I asked him again about his

first drawn to his work because he hadwritten about the impact of the Viet-nam War on the soldiers returninghome (Lifton, 1973, 1979)—somethingmost people were choosing to ignore atthe time. Through many books, he hasexamined the darkest sides of the hu-man experience and how people surviveand even thrive.

More recently, Lifton and a colleague,Jacob Lindy (a specialist in posttrau-matic stress disorders), gathered a col-lection of articles by psychiatrists andpsychotherapists working within East-ern bloc nations during the times ofSoviet domination. Their book is titled,Beyond Invisible Walls: The PsychologicalLegacy of Soviet Trauma (Lindy & Lifton,2001). In their reflections on the essaysin this book, Lindy and Lifton describedtwo kinds of “invisible walls.” The firstthey characterize as the “enduringtraits” of culturally sanctioned defensesthat become an indelible part of the psy-chological landscape—defenses seen asboth necessary and “normal.” Beingforced to submitto unreasonableand arbitraryauthority resultsin chronic pat-terns of dissocia-tion (psychicnumbing) anddissembling(lying), “therebysacrificing one’sauthentic self.”There was thatword again,“authentic.”“Succumbingto absolutecollectivepower meant despairing of individualhope and initiative” (p. 199). Here Ithink we catch a glimpse of the appealof transactional analysis in societies thatwere once subject to communist totali-tarianism. In stark contrast to commu-nism, TA values the rights of the individ-ual and sanctions personal initiative.

The second pattern of invisible wallsLifton and Lindy described were the“gaps between generations” (p. 200),

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“There have been times in Romania

in the not-too-distant past when

being authentic could get you

beaten, sent to jail, or killed.”

After Bill’sspeech (from left): Florentina Bocioc, Bill’stranslator; Bill; Oana Panescu; and RazvanAnghel

father, and he responded angrily, “Whythe fuck do you keep asking me aboutmy father? I’ve told you repeatedly thatI don’t want to talk about him. I wantto forget he existed. I don’t want him tohave any more power over me. I wishhe were dead. WHY do you keep askingme about him?!”

I replied, “My father, too, went to thatwar. Your father came back brutal, minecame back broken. I know in my bonesthat until you understand what hap-pened to your father, the man who isyour father, what broke him, what hecannot bear, you will never be free to beyourself.”

Neither my father nor my client’s fatherwas ever able or willing to talk aboutwhat happened in the war. What theywitnessed, what they may have donewill be forever unspoken and unknow-able. Encased in tortured silence, theiranguish was passed on to their chil-dren, but their actual (authentic) livedhistory (and suffering) remain un-known. This is a legacy from my father:To this day I often find myself fallingunconsciously silent when thosearound me want most to hear from me.It feels to me like an act of intrusionrather than communication.

While my client’s father acted out hisprivate anguish in unspeakable ragesagainst his family, my dad endured hisin silent withdrawal, doing his best tolive a decent life and protect his chil-dren from his inner demons. When myfather’s life became unbearable, hechose to end it. I was horrified, fright-ened, and furious, demanding he takecare of himself. He replied, with unfor-gettable honesty, “You don’t have theright to ask that of me. You have notlived my life, and I have had enough ofthis life.” It was a confrontation thatwill stay with me forever. Even in the

standing, moments of delight, and deepregret and authenticity. There is anauthenticity in how I can recognize therealities, including the limitations andsuffering, of another human being, andof how I can bring myself to that per-son—authentically—in the face ofwhat I can see and understand aboutthe other. This is not to suggest that it iseasy or that it is a sure thing. We riskdisappointment. We risk hurt.

So I will leave you with this thought,although perhaps it would be moreaccurate to say I leave you with thisheartfelt opinion: that an “authentic”self is a self that can bear disappoint-ments and limitations and continue tocare and to move toward the world andthose around us.

ReFeRenCes

Heimannsberg, B., & Schmidt, C. J. (Eds.).(1993). The collective silence: German identityand the legacy of shame. San Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Lifton, R. J. (1973). Home from the war. NewYork, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Lifton, R. J. (1979). The broken connection: Ondeath and the continuity of life. New York, NY:Simon & Schuster.

Lindy, J. D., & Lifton, R. J. (Eds.). (2001).Beyond invisible walls: The psychological legacyof Soviet trauma. New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge.

Merridale, C. (2000). Night of stone: Deathand memory in twentieth century Russia. NewYork, NY: Viking.

Miller, M. (1998). Freud and the Bolsheviks:Psychoanalysis in imperial Russia and the SovietUnion. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

last days of his life, he refused to tell meof the war years that still haunted him,but we spoke of our lives and lossestogether in a pained and loving honesty.I was able to let him go and move onwith my own life.

In our professional work, we seek, wewelcome, we need our histories. Webuild our understanding and our com-passion for our clients and groups inpart through learning their histories. Isit day in and day out with clients, stu-dents, and supervisees who are desper-ate to know more about their parents,who feel an intimate hunger to knowtheir parents and grandparents as real,authentic people. In so doing, theyhope to come to know themselves morefully, authentically. But so often, this isnot to be. So many families, so manycultures and their histories are wrappedin self-protective silences, warding offunbearable memories, determined toforget rather than remember.

I have come to have much more respectfor the unbearable, for the frailties ofbeing human. My father’s words, “Youdo not have the right . . . ” have echoedin my mind and heart many times sincehe first spoke them. I have found a rich-ness, and an authenticity, within myselfin coming to genuinely accept the limitsof my parents—that however muchthey might have wished for me, therealities of their own lives and historiesrendered them less than what they hadhoped for. Their losses and sufferingswere, in fact, far worse than mine.

I have come to see the relief and growththat occurs as clients come to grieve theloss of what was never there and neverwill be so as to be able to open them-selves to new passions and possibilities.I am not speaking here of forgiveness. Ido believe that parents do things tochildren that are unforgivable. I amspeaking of the facing and acceptanceof limits and losses, the capacity to feelthe damage and still see and relate tothose who have hurt us.

The past may remain locked away,unspeakable, but the present is alive.The present still holds the possibility ofcontact, discovery, forgiveness, under-

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“For decades, through three

generations, silence and deceit

were so often essential for survival.

Personal authenticity was out of

the question.”

After he said hello

came to know Eric Berne firstthrough reading the book I’m

OK, You’re OK, in which Harris (1967)introduced applications of Berne’stheory to psychotherapeutic prac-tice. The book was a best-seller inthe United States for several years.That was the first time I witnessedhow a psychological theory caninfluence the public.

While focused on and committed tointroducing psychological knowl-edge to students and Chinese peo-ple, I regard Berne’s theory as mosteffective in helping people enhancetheir quality of life and sense of hap-piness. This is because the majorcharacteristic of his theory, com-pared with other theories of psy-chotherapy and personality studies,is more operational and straightfor-ward. Some may confuse straight-forwardness with shallowness,however, it is actually a means tosimplify a complex question, renderknowledge readily accessible to thepublic, and make substantial contri-butions to the improvement of peo-ple’s psychological health. In thetraditions of Chinese medicine, weadvocate the philosophy that “thebest doctor prevents a disease,” and

psychologists to his team to China,and in April 2011 he began workingwith the Beijing Municipal EducationCommission to train psychologicalcounselors in college.

My associates and I were in the firstclass of the systematic training;before that we only studied transac-tional analysis by ourselves throughrelevant readings in English or Chi-nese. The training allowed me todevelop a comprehensive under-standing of the essence of Berne’stheory, and in 2007 I began offeringa TA course to my students. I havefound that many students are quiteaware and apply the theory not onlyin their own lives but also to helptheir family and friends. For instance,one of my students taught her father,who worked as a prison officer, tofirst appease prisoners using the Nur-turing Parent ego state, then to regu-late them using the Controlling Par-

the straightforward, lively demon-stration of knowledge in Berne’stheory helps ordinary people to pre-vent psychological diseases and ele-vate their quality of life and sense ofhappiness. Thus, Berne’s theory isan effective psychological self-helpinstrument.

At the 28th International Congressof Psychology in August 2004, Iattended the speech by ThomasOhlsson from Sweden. I learnedthat he had offered transactionalanalysis training in Taiwan for years,and a book he and his colleagueshad written was translated into Chi-nese and published in Taiwan. Iasked Dr. Ohlsson if he would like tocome to Mainland China to intro-duce transactional analysis, and heagreed. In June 2005, the first sys-tematic transactional analysis train-ing course in China was launchedoffering twice yearly training for 3years. Later, Dr. Ohlsson added two

Encountering Eric in China

by Yang Mei

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Yang Mei works in the Psychology Coun-seling Center, Capital University of Eco-nomics and Business, Beijing, China. Shecan be reached at mayoung@263.net .Our thanks to Thomas Ohlsson for hishelp with translation. We want to hearhow Eric touched your life too. Sendyour story to column editor Pam Levinat info@nourishingcompany.com .

“In the traditions of Chinese medi-

cine, we advocate the philosophy

that “the best doctor prevents a

disease,” and the straightforward,

lively demonstration of knowledge in

Berne’s theory helps ordinary people

to prevent psychological diseases

and elevate their quality of life.”

ent, and to get along with themmostly from the Adult ego state. Hersuggestion increased her father’sefficiency at work, which indirectlymade their relationship more harmo-nious (her father used to be easilyirritated at home because of troublesfrom work). Witnessing the ways mystudents make wonderful use of thetheory to improve the quality of theirlives and those of their familiesinspires me. (I wrote more about thisin the July 2009 issue of The Script.)

In addition, through two studies Ihave been able to demonstrate thatthe theory of transactional analysishas positive effects on students’growth. The first used empiricalresearch to investigate whether edu-cating college psychology studentsin transactional analysis theorywould have positive effects on theirlocus of control. Two questionnairesurveys were conducted before andafter the transactional analysisclass, and personal narrative reportsby the students were collected. Theresults showed that education intransactional analysis reduced theexternal control proclivity of the 81students, and their assignments dis-played a similar proclivity. The con-clusions were that theories haveenduring bearing on the psychologyeducation of college students andthat an increase in such educationshould be considered. With regardto transactional analysis, its theo-retical and operational characteris-tics make it not only applicable topsychological education for collegestudents but also significant in help-ing the students to discover andexplore their own potential and toliberate their creativity.

The second study used the six fac-tors suggested by Ryff (see Seifert,2005) (self-acceptance, personalgrowth, purpose in life, environmen-tal mastery, positive relations with

those who chose the transactionalanalysis course showed improve-ment on all six factors to variousdegrees, which affirms the effects oftransactional analysis on mentalhealth education.

REFERENCES

Harris, T. A. (1967). I’m OK, you’re OK: Apractical guide to transactional analysis.New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Mei, Y. (2009). Transactional analysishelps Chinese undergraduates live well.The Script, 39(5), 1, 6.

Seifert, T. A. (2005). The Ryff scales ofpsychological well-being. Retrievedfrom www.liberaarts.wabash.edu/ryff-scales

others, autonomy) as indicators ofpsychological happiness to examinethe effects of the transactionalanalysis course. The study looked atwhether psychological health andwell-being of the college studentsimproved after the course. Positivechange in any of the six factorsmeans that psychological well-beinghas improved. The qualitativeresearch study analyzed 66 papersfrom students who took the transac-tional analysis course at Capital Uni-versity of Economics and Business inBeijing and the effect of transaction-al analysis on improving their men-tal health. The results showed that

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S

The following positions are open fornominations.

Deadline: 31 May 2012

Officers (nominations allowed fromany region and elected at large by allITAA voting members)

n President-Elect (2013)

n Vice President Operations (2013-2015)

n Vice President Research & Innovation (2013-2015)

n Treasurer (2013-2015)

Regional Trustees (nominationand election only by members of theregion)

n North America (2013-2015)

n Africa (2013-2015)

n Latin America (2013-2015)

Nominations require the name andconsent signature of the nominee (itmay be yourself), the name of theperson making the nomination, andthe name of the person secondingthe nomination. To be eligible fornomination, trustees may not have

already served two consecutiveterms of office in any position on theboard. Position statements (char-ters) that describe the function andselection criteria for each of the offi-cer positions are available from theITAA or in the Guidelines (part ofthe official documentation) on theITAA website at www.taworld.org .Nominees are encouraged to readand understand these beforeaccepting nomination.

Send nominations to ITAA Nomina-tions Chair Sumithra Sharatkumarat sumithrask@gmail.com .

If you have not already submit-

ted a Consent to use of elec-tronic transmissions so that

you are eligible to vote elec-

tronically in the case of a ballot,

we urge you to do so right away

by visiting http://itaaworld.org/

index.php/home/consent-form-

electronic-transmission .

Call for ITAA Board Nominations

tA Around the Globe

érôme Fargette, a trainer in inter-personal communications, hascreated a blog/website (see www.

analysetransactionnelle.fr) that hasbecome a French-language resource forthose interested in transactionalanalysis. This noncommercial ventureoffers transactional analysis historyand theory, original articles, a list oftraining facilities, training curricula, abibliography, announcements forevents in the world of transactionalanalysis, and personal reactions andanalyses illustrating concrete applica-tions of TA. Script Editor LaurieHawkes interviewed Jérôme, a manwith a passion for TA.

LH: Hi Jerôme, thanks for agreeingto this conversation. We met only afew years ago, but I have followedyour blog for some time. How longhave you been interested in transac-tional analysis and how did thatcome about ?

JF: My first contact with transac-tional analysis occurred outside ofmy awareness: Seven years ago Iwas in therapy with someone I nowknow to be a Provisional Teachingand Supervising Transactional Ana-lyst (PTSTA), and he told me abouta TA 101 course. I wasn’t interestedin any more book learning since I’dhad my fill during my law studies.But a little while later, I had another

so many things evolve over such along time period. On the other hand,there was the Internet, but thatreally disappointed me. How was itthat such a wonderful theory astransactional analysis had so littlepresence on the French-languageInternet? Aside from the French,Belgian, or Swiss institutional web-sites, or sites for the main teachinginstitutes, there was practicallynothing. So the first thing I did waswork with my friend Eric Bittar, aPTSTA (E), to help correct the trans-actional analysis page on Wikipedia,which was quite incomplete andinaccurate.

Then I took my problem to Laurent,a friend who is a webmaster. Threeyears ago, I knew virtually nothingabout the way the Internet worked,particularly blogs. Laurent was in the process of creating a website,and he showed me how to reserve a

opportunity to attend a 101 course,and I thought, “Why not?” It wasfantastic! I can still remember whatI told people at the end of those twodays: “This is the most interestingthing I have learned so far!” Sincethen, I have discovered many otherthings that were as interesting—and I’ve changed jobs—but thosewords still hold true, and the joy ofthat first contact with transactionalanalysis concepts remains. I feelvery grateful to Eric Berne for whathe started and the way he did it. Mywebsite is, among other things, away of paying homage to him.

LH: Tell us about your ideas forwww.analysetransactionnelle.fr .

JF: When I began training in trans-actional analysis, I was eager to findall the information I could, as youcan imagine. To write my TA 101exam, I read Games People Play andWhat Do You Say After You Say Hello?among other things. There weresome rather boring handbooks, allof them 20 to 30 years old. Thebasic concepts were the same, but

French-Language Website Offers Wealth of TA Information

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“I can still remember what I told

people at the end of the TA 101:

‘This is the most interesting thing

I have learned so far!’ ”

domain name. To our great surprise,“analysetransactionnelle.fr” wasstill available, so I took it. What Iwanted to do was to talk abouttransactional analysis, and no othername seemed as appropriate!

Later, Laurent created the structureof the blog, and I spent the follow-ing months developing the content.I had it checked by people I knew,some of whom knew nothing abouttransactional analysis to seewhether the texts were good intro-ductions and some of whom wereTA trainers (among them Eric Bittarand Axel de Louise, both PTSTAs) tosee if the theory was accurate. I alsocollected all the information I couldfind about transactional analysis:training institutes, events, publica-tions, and so on. I contacted peoplelike Nicholas Calcaterra (who keepsup an excellent website about hisgrandfather) for the photographsand Robin Fryer for ITAA copyrightquestions. All this to offer my read-ers what I had wished I could find:everything about transactionalanalysis, or as my slogan says, “TAfrom A to Z”!

LH: How has your website beenreceived?

JF: The public gave me a heartywelcome, and to this day I receiveregular emails or comments on thewebsite to thank me or to voicepleasure about our shared passion.This makes me happy and proud.Soon I had a wonderful surprise:Agnès Le Guernic (TSTA-E), offered

chology magazines or at the end ofcertain books—including your lat-est, Laurie, on social anxiety.

LH: What would you say your bloghas contributed to letting peopleknow about transactional analysis?

JF: I think it came in at an importanttransition time for transactionalanalysis in France. When I launchedmy website, there were few recentbooks about TA in French, but overthe following 2 years, more than adozen were published! That is aclear sign that there is a strongdemand in France right now forinformation and news about trans-actional analysis and other compa-rable methods. In such a context, awebsite like mine can really be use-ful by offering a way to discoverinformation and exchange ideaswith others, all at no charge. Unde-niably, it has made transactionalanalysis more accessible to a greaternumber of people.

LH: Thank you for sharing your story,Jérôme. Your blog/website is a gener-ous and useful venture, and I am glad it was a well-informed, well-intentioned person such as you who took the domain name “analysetransactionnelle.fr”! Maybe it will inspire knowledgeablepeople in other countries to do something similar.

to collaborate on the website. Sincethen, Agnès has been writing a reg-ular column about her experiencesand reflections about transactionalanalysis with a pedagogical turnthat I really appreciate. She is a realgift to our readers!

On the other hand, the welcomewas not so good from some repre-sentatives of the French association,Institut Français d’Analyse Transac-tionnelle (IFAT). During my training,I naturally became an IFAT member,so I took my project to the board tosee how we could work together.They did not want me speaking forthem or overshadowing the associa-tion’s work. Naturally, I was disap-pointed, but I decided to carry onwithout their support.

LH: Do you know what kind of peo-ple visit your website?

JF: Visitors are mainly people out-side of transactional analysis, be-cause professionals already havetheir own sources. I get many ques-tions about the TA 101 and abouttraining and the various institutes.Most of them are French—some-times expatriates—or Europeans,but I have also had a few Canadiancontacts and even a few fromBelarus! Perhaps some also comevia the Eric Berne group I created onFacebook. What I notice is a regularincrease in visitors: At this point, Iget an average of 700 per day. Partof that is probably due to somegood strokes I have received recent-ly, such as being mentioned in psy-

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“To our great surprise, ‘analysetransactionnelle.

fr’ was still available, so I took it. What I wanted

to do was to talk about transactional analysis,

and no other name seemed as appropriate!”

S

Jérôme can be reached via his websiteand by email at jeromefargette@yahoo.fr .

in Memoriam

enton Roberts died on 12 December 2011. With his

passing, transactional analysis haslost a dedicated ambassador and afaithful friend, and the ITAA has losta devoted son who loved and sup-ported the organization for manyyears and in countless ways.

Denton became a Clinical Memberin 1971 and a Teaching Member in1976. He attended most ITAA con-ferences and made presentations allover the world up until 2009 whenhis health began to fail. He servedon countless ITAA committees,including the Board of Trustees. Heserved as secretary and treasurermany times and even managed theITAA office for a while when wemade the transition to doing with-out an executive director.

Denton was a greatly understatedpowerhouse of a man. He was aclergyman but not doctrinaire. Hewas more spiritual than religious,and his defining characteristics werehis social conscience, his compas-sion for the underprivileged, and hisdedication to serving others. Hemarched in the Civil Rights Move-ment, built All People’s Church inLos Angeles into a community cen-ter, and was a source of comfort andsupport to a vast array of friendsand his own extended family. Heclosely supported and guided his

to his organizational work, he con-tributed articles to the TransactionalAnalysis Journal and wrote a numberof books, among them Able andEqual, Find Purpose Find Meaning,and the whimsical Lumps andBumps, the latter of which was prob-ably written for children but becamea favorite of many adults.

The world is a better place becauseDenton journeyed here. May hisnext escapade be equally beneficialto all he encounters.

The following are some tributes fromfriends who knew him well.

“Denton was my friend for over 35years. He was always there to lend ahelping ear and a helping hand. Hehelped me raise $10,000 to start aninterfaith dialogue group of socialactivists. That group met for over 10years and out of it came some pro-found things, including a freedom-and-faith bus tour around the 2004U.S. election and a talk-back atRiverside Church that gave anti-war

two sons to successful careers andfamilies of their own, was a devotedcaretaker for his wife, Gerry, througha long and painful terminal illness,and was an anchor for his brotherand his nieces and nephew and adoting grandfather to their progeny.

This was a man who loved life andlived it to the fullest. He had a senseof humor and great appreciation forthe outdoors. He loved camping andwas never happier than when hehad a horse or mule between hislegs or a fishing pole in his hands.Around a campfire he told storiesand quoted his favorite theologian:“Where there is sin, there is grace.Sin boldly that grace may abound.”This was the underpinning of hiscapacity to empathize and forgive.His favorite hymn was an African-American spiritual, which he sangmost mornings in the shower:“There Is a Balm in Gilead to Healthe Sin-Sick Soul.”

Denton was part of the group ofpeople who persuaded the ITAABoard of Trustees to create thescholarship loan fund, he was key inthe modernization of the ITAAbylaws and constitution, and he wasactive in raising funds toward thepurchase of the ITAA office building.Along with others, he was a primemover in the creation of the USA TAAssociation (USATAA). In addition

Denton Roberts

by Vince Gilpin

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activist Cindy Sheehan her voice(before she camped out at Bush’sranch). Denton made it all happen.”

—Edie Beaujon

“I worked, learned, and played withDenton for about 40 years. He wasan original character: a super-loyalfriend, part tobacco-chewing, beer-drinking cowboy; part itinerantpolitical preacher and administra-tor; part huge unrecognized influ-ence in transactional analysis histo-ry; an author and originator ofimportant humanistic concepts; anda persistent worker for transactionalanalysis around the world. May herest in peace.” —Claude Steiner

“Denton was a leading figure in TheEnhancement Network (whichdeveloped the theory on which bothmental health counseling and thecounseling certification in TA isbased). He would come to theannual “Get-Together” and was akeynote speaker. He also wrotesome articles for the EnhancementNews. I feel great sadness at theloss of a friend and am so awarethat our generation of transactionalanalysis is passing.” —Bill Krieger

humor, and fun-loving ways and hisessays in the All People’s Churchnewsletter, which fed my soul. Weworked and played together for 35years in the ITAA and USATAA. Den-ton was amazingly influential in pro-viding leadership within theseorganizations, with strategies thatwere effective and often humorouslycreative.” —Jo Lewis

“In my mind’s eye, I see Denton asthe mischievous, fun-loving cowboybehind whom stood the hard-work-ing fellow, ready to take on whatev-er heavy chores came his way. Wewere on the ITAA Board simultane-ously for two terms, so I couldappreciate the supportive historianwith a sharp memory and sense ofjustice, cheerfully capable of balanc-ing divergent demands. We all missyou, you bright, generous rascal!”

—Fanita English

“A lot of laughs and shared sorrowsfrom a full-bore human animal,Denton. He was my principal col-league in developing the ‘cellularmodel.’ Denton organized a group ofpsychotherapists in southern Cali-fornia in 1975, and the group hascontinued across the years. Dentonand I were slaking our thirst in anunpretentious mountainside tavernwhen I drew the first cellular modelon a paper napkin. His training wasin theology and mine in biology, andour pursuit of the True Self has beencomplementary.” —Bob Phillips

“Denton was a glorious man forthose of us who revel in sly glancesgiving hints of grave disbelief. Onecertainty was, if you were his friend,you felt loved and treasured. Den-ton did the work of caring for otherswithout schmaltz and with laughtera major part of his prescription.”

—Emily Ruppert

“Denton was a kind, caring, intelli-gent, generous, loving, and funfriend. He was a dedicated transac-tional analyst and did whatever hecould to protect and promote TA. Hewas a founding member of USATAAand the third general coordinator ofthe young association. Denton wasinstrumental in developing the M &M Award for honoring accomplish-ments in transactional analysis inthe United States. He taught trans-actional analysis to prisoners inNew York and many other places inthe world and worked for a longtime at Ground Zero after the 9/11disaster. I will miss him and cherishmemories of happy times together.”

—Felipe Garcia

“Denton stood as a man of faithwho was committed to social justiceand a healer of intrapsychic andinterpersonal oppression. I cherishmemories of his wisdom, kindness,

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Come join us!at the

Leadership Training Workshop

with Jean Illsley Clarke and a gifted staff25-29 June 2012 in Minneapolis, MN

(jiconsults@aol.com)

A special opportunity for family & parenteducators to:s Recharge their enthusiasms Receive an update on recentbrain development research

s Explore the new How Much IsEnough? overindulgence par-enting curriculum

s Update skills for leading adulteducation groups and exam-ine the theory behind thoseskills

s Invent learning opportuni-ties for Visual/Spatial learners

s Network with other profes-sionals and share your wisdomand favorite programs

newsletter of the international transactionalAnalysis Association2843 Hopyard Rd., Suite 155Pleasanton, CA 94588, USAFax: 925-600-8112 email: info@itaaworld.org Website: www.itaaworld.org

editor: Laurie Hawkes, MAManaging editor: Robin Fryer, MSWDesktop publishing: lockwood design

The Script (ISSN 0164-7393) is publishedmonthly by the International TransactionalAnalysis Association. For information on mem-bership, visit www.itaaworld.org or contact theITAA at the above address. © 2012 Interna-tional Transactional Analysis Association, Inc.

thesCRipt

Journal entry

by Sylvie Monin

As a counselor, it is aprivilege and honor tobe invited to guestedit the April 2013Transactional AnalysisJournal dedicated totransactional analysisin counseling. The

field of counseling is dear to my heart,and the work we do as TA counselorsseems ever more important in our rapid-ly changing society (Cornell & Hine,1999). One of my fascinations withtransactional analysis counseling is thewide variety of areas in which it is used ,either in a primary or complementaryfunction (European Association for

Transactional Analysis, 2008, sect.5.3.1, p. 3). Among the trainees and col-leagues I know and work with are nurs-es, law enforcement personnel, mid-wives, priests, chaplains, social workers,human resources managers, family officemanagers, professionals working withhorses, ergotherapists, physiotherapists,sophrologists, career orientation special-ists, coaches, and counselors in privatepractice. A wide representation, indeed!

For the Transactional Analysis Journal oncounseling, I encourage those of youwho are counselors in our TA communi-ty to write about your specific work inways that share the richness of yourpractice, your field of expertise, and howyou define the TA field of counseling.

I am enthusiastic about this project andinvite you to share the excitement bygrabbing your pens (or computers) towrite about your professional work ascounselors. I am always surprised thatthe field of TA counseling is not wellknown, but now we have a wonderfulopportunity to present our emergingprofession and what we, TA counselors,do. Please follow the guidelines for sub-mitting TAJ articles at http://itaa-world.org/ index.php/knowledge-zone/taj/taj-submission-requirements.The deadline is 1 July 2012. I look for-ward to reading your manuscripts andsharing this experience with you.

ReFeRenCes

Cornell, W. F., & Hine, J. (1999). Cognitiveand social functions of emotions: A modelfor transactional analysis counselor train-ing, Transactional Analysis Journal, 29, 175-185.

European Association for Transactionalanalysis. (2008). EATA training and exami-

nations handbook. Retrieved fromhttp:/www.eatanews.org/handbook.htm

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Welcome to

New Members

NEw MEMbERShIP

MEMbERS SPoNSoR

NovEMbER 2011

Chéreau, france —

Hans Mertens, Netherlands —

eun-seok Lee, republic of Korea —

Jean-Claude bernatchez, Canada —

Tracey Séva, france —

S. a. Middleton, uK —

alena Kazanzeva, russia —

andrey andriyuk, russia —

andrey Sychev, russia —

anna Dobrovolskaya, russia —

anna Nikolaeva, russia —

Darya Sivashenkova, russia —

evgeniy Sechin, russia —

Galina Galimova, russia —

Julia Dovgilevich, russia —

Julia Zagorodneva, russia —

Larisa Kolesnikova, russia —

Marina Kurdyukova, russia —

Maxim Holin, russia —

Natalya yeliseeva, russia —

Olga Zolotova, russia —

yulia Semenova, russia —

Janet C. Skinner, uK —

S

Sylvie Monin, Provisional Teaching andSuper vising Transactional Analyst (coun -seling) and Integrative Counselor, has aprivate coun se ling practice in Geneva,Switzerland, and is a trainer and super-visor at the Centre A. T.–Geneve (Centerfor Trans ac tion al Analysis Geneva). Shecan be reached at sylvie.monin@bluewin.ch .

Theme Issue of the TAJ on Counseling

Upcoming

TAJ Theme Issues

“Counseling and transactional Analysis”

Guest editor: Sylvie MoninDeadline for Manuscripts:

1 July 2012

“transactional Analysis and Children”

Guest editors: Marco Mazzetti,Güdrun Jecht-Hennig, and

Dolores Munari PodaDeadline for Manuscripts:

1 July 2013

Please follow the submissionrequirements posted at http://

itaaworld.org/index.php/knowledge-zone/ taj/taj-submission-requirements.

Email manuscripts to TAJ Managing Editor Robin Fryer, MSW, at

robinfryer@aol.com.