b'TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSISA mode\x1f for deeper, effectiv\x1e communicatio\x1d IUnfortunately, our Parent can also limit our didnt set out to be a coach. In fact, during my Transactionalconfi dence, defi ne our energy, our success Analysis (TA) Psychotherapylevels and even our earnings.training, I believedOur Adult ego is rooted in personal (inaccurately) that coaching wasawareness, mindfulness and the here therapy-lite and should beand now. The Adult deals with truths, avoided. facts and feelings without leaning into rules or limited thinking and But then I met the founder of anbehaviours. This state is about being international coach training institutetrue to ourselves. When we do not who helped me understand thatfully operate in Adult or when we coaching is a two-way conversation,confuse it with another ego state whereas psychotherapy - and mythen we are not here or now. This previous role as a social worker - isresults in inviting tricky, confusing often a one sided process with littleinteractions with others. input from the client.Our Child ego state contains all our In my coaching practice, I combine achildhood experiences - our personal potent integration of TA and coachingpast.In this ego state, we either adapt to achieve life-changing transformation,to the rules held in by our Parent or free helping people to recognise, understand,ourselves from them by being silly, helpless resolve and (once and for all) let go of theLucy Power is aor rebellious. This state is useful for ideas, ways that hold them back from all they canTherapeutic Coach,problem solving, playfulness, fun and be. professionallyto gain emotional connection. We often WHAT IS TRANSACTIONALoperate in similar ways as we did when we certified with thewere very young that meant staying safe, ANALYSIS? ICF and trained infi tting in and being loveable but in adult Transactional Analysis (TA) is aTransactional Analysislife, these ways of being do not always psychosocial approach to understandingserve us well.ourselves and others and offers afor Psychotherapy. When we recognise the ego states on language to describe what is happening for us and between us. She runs online groupwhich TA is based, our communication Ego States Modelprogrammes, one to onebecomes cleaner, more clear and open and problems feel more manageable. At its root, TA holds that there are threecoaching, retreats andTA changed my own personal world by ways - or ego states - of thinking, feelingevents. Lucy also trainshelping me to understand myself and and being.coaches, therapistsothers and learn how to communicate in The Parent, the Adult and the Child.and counsellors ina new way. Although I had a good job, a Our Parent ego is shaped by the ways wemarriage and a full life (which I described observed adults around us when we wereTransactional Analysisas happy), I look back and know that that young. It contains the rules, the rights andand offers trainingwasnt true. wrongs, the things we feel we shouldand consultancy toI was existing in a way that drained and shouldnt do. In our Parent ego, itsme more than it energised me. I wasnt as if we press play on one of theseorganisations. committed to myself nor the quality of my recordings and our true selves leave thelucypowerworld.com life. I was living in ways that ensured I kept room. We act like we saw our parents act.to the limits and restrictions I had imposed History repeats itself.through these ego states, but through This ego state is useful to keep us alive andcoaching and TA psychotherapy, I became well, to regulate and offer useful limits.free of this and you can too.14'