Transactional Analysis Therapy – Strokes & Time structuring

This will help you to fulfil the esteem needs

Any act of recognition is called a stroke.
- People need strokes to maintain their physical and psychological wellbeing
- Negative Stroke is better than No strokes
- Categorization of Strokes: Positive and Negative / Conditional (about any specific thing) and Unconditional (about the person in general)
  - Conditional Positive/Negative
  - Unconditional Positive/Negative

e.g. Your dress is good – Conditional Positive Stroke | You are looking good – Unconditional Positive Stroke | Your cooking is bad – Unconditional Negative Stroke |The gravy did not have salt – Conditional Negative Stroke.

Berne described how we structure our time in order to gain strokes and to meet our need for structure. We all have a drive or need to structure our lives. As you move through the different ways of spending time from 1-6 the level of strokes exchanged increases as given below. Awareness of time-structure can give people extra options in choosing how they will use their time in order to gain the strokes they need.

E.g. the married couple who spend all evening together watching TV and then move into a game to avoid going to bed together. They gain strokes through the fight rather than through the more demanding intimacy. They may decide to engage in some activity (e.g. talk and walk together!) in order to ‘stroke’ each other more during the evenings and so avoid the need for a game, opening the way possibly for intimacy.

Level 1: Withdrawal – being isolated. Only self- stroking is possible
Level 2: Rituals – saying good morning/good evening
Level 3: Pastimes – doing something with the other person to pass time
Level 4: Activities – doing something productive with some goals
Level 5: Games – Drama Triangle (Dysfunctional – so to be avoided)
Level 6: Intimacy – Winners Triangle

The intensity of stroking increases as we move down the list from withdrawal to intimacy. Lesser the strokes, more the problems