This article proposes a theory of self based on Berne's (1961/1986) original structural model of ego states and on elements of object relations theory and self psychology. Consideration is given to the implications of this theory for psychotherapeutic methodology—including the therapist's use of self—as they relate to understanding and working with the internal dynamics of the Child ego state. The authors suggest that a congruent methodology for deconfusing the Child involves using the transferential relationship as the vehicle for deconfusion, and they identify four interrelated steps in this process. Transference and countertransference are defined and explored, case material is presented to demonstrate the therapist's use of self, and figures based on the structural model of ego states are offered for each step. When we refer to the therapist's interventions and behavior we mean to imply that the therapist always functions in the Adult. The authors demonstrate how Berne's therapeutic operations provide a valuable skeleton for mapping the processes of decontamination and deconfusion.

This case study charts the process of psychotherapy with a young man over a period of about five years and discusses the emergence of erotic feelings in the transference and countertransference.

This article proposes that Berne's focus on the transactional nature of psychotherapy foreshadowed later developments in psychoanalysis that have come to be known as “relational psychoanalysis.” Relational psychoanalysis, which introduced the interpersonal and intersubjective experience into traditional psychoanalysis, brought psychoanalysis into a more interactive framework. Given that Berne's intention for transactional analysis was to enable people to communicate more effectively–to move away from games and toward intimacy–the authors offer further thinking about how this aim can be realized by developing relational thinking within transactional analysis. This article builds on ideas that have emerged in the transactional analysis journals of the last 2 decades (Cornell & Hargaden, in press), which provide a template of the evolution of relational transactional analysis. One of the main components of this theoretical perspective is the theory of intersubjectivity. The authors propose that this theory significantly alters the theory of transactional analysis proper and adds a deeper understanding to the transferential relationship. The focus in this article is primarily on the nonverbal aspects of intersubjectivity with a view to building on the relational theory of Hargaden and Sills (2002).

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The author presents a case study of her work with a female client. She chooses two periods of time in the therapy to explore the unconscious intersubjective nature of the clinical encounter. In part one she describes how an enactment leads to an impasse. Using the theory of the third, she describes how the impasse is resolved, which paves the way for the deeper therapeutic process described in part two. There she shows how previously dissociated traumatic states in both client and therapist are brought into conscious awareness. The theoretical focus is on theories of enactment, thirds, the use of imagination, reverie, and paradigms of the mind.