An Analysis of Nonverbal Transactions Drawing on Theories of Intersubjectivity

Abstract

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).