subject: Who decides our destiny? [print this page] Who decides our destiny? Who decides our destiny?
Script can often be compared to fortune or luck by those who do not understand this Transactional Analysis idea. So exactly what does a TA therapist really mean by script?
Script is a key idea in TA. Script is:
"A life plan based on decisions which limit a person's ability to problem solve and relate intimately with people" (Erskine, R. 1980).
Even as grow up, we view the world and decide how we can live through it. We make decisions when we are young that can stick with us for the rest of our lives unless we challenge these views when we are grownups and figure out how to do things differently.
One of the major roles of a TA psychotherapist will be to really test script beliefs in their clients and enable them to move towards autonomy.
Lots of the decisions we make about the world are made entirely out of our consciousness and for very good purpose. For example, if, as a infant, Bob is disciplined virtually every time he whines, he understands pretty fast not to cry or exhibit feelings. He might create a script belief that men ought to not cry and feel self-conscious around men who display their emotions and find it difficult to deal with his own when things get rough in his personal life.
His script decision has kept him safer as a youngster and was obviously a good way of surviving, but as an adult he is not in danger if he displays his feelings and his lack of ability to achieve this might cause difficulty between him and his lover who thinks he is cool and distant from her.
Bob's therapist may possibly bring Bob's script beliefs about emotions into his consciousness where they might both examine where they came from and how they might be changed if that's what Bob wants. The consequence of shifting these opinions for Bob could be a better relationship with his partner, who feels more connected to him, and also a decrease in stress filled emotions as Bob now understands it's alright to feel sad and frightened and is in a position to talk about these emotions more readily with folks he trusts.
And that is the crucial element to script - we made the choices so we are able to alter them. We've got that capacity.
By having our script beliefs moved into our consciousness and challenging those that hold us back we now have an opportunity to live more impulsive, adaptable and intimate lives.
We decide on our own future. Our fortune is in our own hands. A good psychotherapist helps us grasp our ambitions that bit sooner.
