Activating Inner Resources in Facilitating Change

Alina Rus (PTSTA-P)

Conference: Sunday, October 27th, 11.30 - 13.15

In the early years of Transactional Analysis, the focus of practitioners was on problem solving. By using a model based on problem solving, there is a risk to discount client’s inner processes which propel towards growth and development. In this way, we also risk to send to the clients the message that “life is a problem” (Mellor, 2017).

Several TA authors use concepts such as Physis (Berne, 1947, Erskine, 2013), Drive (Piccinino, 2018), Life Energy (Mellor, 2017) to describe the natural human tendency towards growth and development. These concepts support the idea that each baby is born with the tendency to become a human being with ”an orientation and motivation for action that is ready for activation if it is well accepted and supported” (Piccinino, 2018).

Starting from Newton’s (2006) approach on script as a dynamic learning process, we can use the learning cycle as a model for understanding script formation but also for the updating and changing of script. By activating our inner resources, we can re-learn new experiences which will contribute to facilitating change.

The aim of the workshop is to explore, through experiential exercises and discussions, the ways in which inner resources can be activated in the process of managing internal blockages, both in the therapeutic process and in everyday life.