Transactional Analysis and Spiral Dynamics

Abstract

The author suggests that in the face of the current global crises that threaten the human species, transactional analysts need to assess their theoretical tools for understanding social development and their ability to contribute usefully to social change. She offers that transactional analysis cannot claim to be a social psychology in the fullest sense and that Clare Graves's theory of psychosocial development (popularized by Beck and Cowan in their 1996 book Spiral Dynamics) may provide some of what is missing in TA theory. She suggests that there is a high level of compatibility between Spiral Dynamics and transactional analysis because both have a developmental perspective and share many concepts. Illustrations based on the author's work show how integrating these two theories enriches the possibilities of working with individuals and groups by allowing therapists and or developmental practitioners and their clients a deeper appreciation of their social context and cultural frame of reference. Finally, the author asks the challenging question of how humans, as a species, will respond to the current threats they face: Will they progress or regress developmentally?