Ecological TA
What follows is a definition of a movement in transactional analysis (TA) that is orientated toward an ecological understanding of the individual embedded in relationship with others and the wider natural world. It is based on the premise that TA has historically been anthroprocentric, by which is meant that human psychology is primarily understood in terms of what goes on within the individual person and in between people, in other words, the intra-psychic and inter-personal domains. In common with most psychological frameworks, TA has been ‘person(s)-centred’. By introducing Ecological TA (Eco-TA) as a distinct movement the intention is to draw attention to the ecological domain in advocating for a new direction in TA theory and practice.
We offer an initial working definition of Eco-TA as follows:
Eco-TA is an approach for understanding the human and more than human experience that is forged in connection with the ecological context in which it occurs. Furthermore, that this inter-connected process incorporates the agency of both human and the more-than-human partners in the encounter. It is, to be more succinct, the practice of transactional analysis in alliance with Earth.
At this point we invite you to take another brief pause in reading to give some space for this definition to fully arrive for you at a somatic level. In this process, maybe take some time to receive your surrounding’s again before we head onwards.
Our definition is based on a core assumption - an ontological premise - which is that human experience is but one component in a wider system of connections, extending beyond those simply involving other people. In this respect it is systemic, but one that incorporates the impact of the other than human factors and is therefore better understood as eco-systemic.
At this introductory stage of exploring Eco-TA it is important to resist reducing this frame of reference as referring to ‘fields’ of application because if the ‘truth’ of inter-connectedness is to be coherent and credible then it must apply whether the task is to cure, to resolve, to support or to educate. How this core understanding of connectedness ‘shows up’ in practice will be reflected in the particular frames of reference, competences and theorising of counsellors, therapists, consultants and educators. What is distinctive about Eco-TA is that its point of origin is outside of any one field of practice. It is, in the context of TA categorisation, coming from beyond the notion of fields of application. It has neither emerged from, nor belongs to any one field. It is in some respects the first time TA practitioners can claim an approach as ‘ours’, to be cultivated, shared and enjoyed by all of us, irrespective of where we practice, with whom we practice and how we define our role. Like Earth itself, when lived with in respect, there is abundance, sustainability and flourishing to be found in nourishing a model that acknowledges inter-connectedness. It can be owned by no-one but belongs to us all.
Key Features of Ecological TA
In exploring the scope of Eco-TA, the following features begin to create an outline of this approach to TA and which distinguish it from what has come before in terms of theoretical and practical development. Each feature is designed to emphasise and support an overall aim of Eco-TA which is to advocate a key shift whereby ‘client’ (or group) and practitioner regarding their working relationship not as being apart from, but to one of being a part of nature and the planet.
- A move toward the concept of the ecological self and away from the egological self. This includes becoming increasingly ecocentric and acknowledges the limitations of an anthropocentric frame of reference. One dimension of this shift is that humanism is no longer sufficient as a basis for developing progressive, planet-focussed theory and practice.
- A recognition that it is increasingly necessary to develop an understanding of the implications of working in the ecological space, as different from the relational space. Or, to be more precise, that in referring to the ‘relationality’ of TA practice, this includes the interplay of social, conscious, unconscious and environmental processes.
- Working with natural agency as it emerges in our TA practice. This has significant implications for how physis is re-framed conceptually. In Eco-TA physis is understood as being universally present, existing both within and outside of the individual self. It is this use of physis that draws attention to the tendency toward homonomy alongside the familiar TA goal of autonomy.
- An understanding that people establish an eco-script both individually and culturally in relation to nature, ecology and Earth. Eco-TA is aimed at expanding the frame of reference, encouraging permission and becoming increasingly ‘script-free’ in relation to matters of the environment. Individuals and communities have narratives that can (dis)connect with the ecological domain. (A specific, vivid example of this relates to Berne’s own language regarding his reference to ‘thinking Martian’. We prefer an alternative position which is about increasing our capacity to be ‘earthlings’.)Ecological scripting has remained unexplored territory in TA and Eco-TA exists in part to bring about a new phase of organisational psycho-educational development in the professional community.