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2 out of 5
by
Reinhold
from
Kottingbrunn, Austria | Dec 11, 2008
Überholt
Dieses Werk stellte zu der Zeit als es entstanden ist, bestimmt einen großen Schritt in eine sehr wesentliche Richtung der Psychologie und -therapie dar. Ehe man allerdings an dieses Buch herangeht sollte man sich klar machen, dass das Buch vor 30 Jahren entstanden ist. Wenn man sich weiters vor Augen hält, dass es richtunggebend für eine wichtige Theorie innerhalb der Psychologie darstellt, dann kann man sich ausmalen, dass hier in der Zwischenzeit enorme Weiterentwicklungen geschehen sind.
Harris gilt gemeinsam mit Berne („Spiele der Erwachsenen", „Was sagen Sie nachdem Sie guten Tag gesagt haben") als einer der Begründer der Transaktionsanalyse, die davon ausgeht, dass unser Ich in drei Zuständen betrachtet werden muss (Kindheits-Ich, Eltern-Ich, Erwachsenen-Ich). Damit brachte er eine wichtige Neuerung in die Psychologie, die bis dahin von Freuds Modell des „Id - Ego - Super Ego" dominiert war. Vor allem aber brachte er eine weitere Neuerung und die war der Versuch all das in einer Alltagssprache zu erklären, damit jeder es verstehen kann.
Und genau hier setzt das vorliegende Buch an. Thomas Harris versucht in einer Alltagssprache genau die Grundlage der Transaktionsanalyse zu erklären und darzulegen, welche Folgen sich für die Kommunikation und das Empfinden des Einzelnen daraus ergeben. Das Ding mit der Sprache ist ihm auch recht gut gelungen allerdings ist einfache Sprache alleine nicht immer ausreichend. Für mein Empfinden kommt die Übertragung auf den Otto Normalverbraucher einfach zu wenig heraus. Es wird sehr stark in Extremsituationen argumentiert und Harris kümmert sich sehr stark um pathologische Auswirkungen. Am Ende stürzt er sich - wohl dem Zeitgeist entsprechend - in philosophische Darlegungen à la Erich Fromm. Wenn man Fromm zur Hand nimmt, weiß man worauf man sich einlässt. Wenn man ein Buch das die Grundlagen der Transaktionsanalyse darlegen möchte zur Hand nimmt, erwartet man keine Abhandlung über Gott und das Gute im Menschen.
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5 out of 5
by
Gabriel-paul
from
El Paso, TX | Mar 18, 2010
I really enjoyed reading this book. I have struggled for a very long time with the crossed lines of transactional analysis. I find that the diagrams in the book are wonderful for further understanding of the Parent, Adult, Child paradigm. I have been learning this paradigm for awhile without knowing where the paradigm first began. I use of the information within the paradigm has helped me grow and better understand myself. Furthermore, I think that the importance of the discussion of the labels that people give one another do more harm that people are willing to admit. There is a short discussion that the labels are usually more harmful than anything else to people. People often recover from mental illness or behavorial issues, but not from the labels that are placed upon that person by institutions and individuals. After giving thought to the labels that have been placed upon me by institutions and individuals, I have found that Harris' book challenges my understanding of the importance of those labels. I think that the labels may be useful only until the point that they do not overcome the whole identity of the individual. When the label overcomes the entire identity of a person, the usefulness of the label becomes oppressive. The oppressiveness of a label can cripple the human psyche. The importance of thelabel remains with the individual it is placed upon.
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1 out of 5
by
Aaron
from
Brooklyn, NY | Dec 1, 2008
It's rare that you come across a book that takes you six months to finish, with more or less weekly efforts to just get it over with. 274 pages later and I still can't identify Harris's thesis.
This book suffers from trying to be everything and ends up being nothing. Despite my bitter frustration from laboring through this insipid, disorganized mess, I still will give Harris the benefit of the doubt and assume this was all done in good faith and was a concerted effort to reach out to people in need. That being said, this one belonged on the clearance rack in 1969.
It astounds me that this book advertises itself of the cover as "Over 15 million copies in print" and "The classic bestseller that has changed the lives of millions." Of course this is typical self-promotion, but I'd like to remind everyone that the number of books sold says nothing of the their worth. Regarding psychotherapy and counseling, I never had to read a text by Carl Rogers in school, nor have I ever met someone who mentioned reading one of his; yet he is indisputably one of if not the most significant and influential figure in psychotherapy. By contrast, I never heard of Harris until I picked up this book, despite his millions sold.
The real shame of this book is that he does a disservice to psychotherapy as a whole and Transactional Analysis in particular. I have yet to read Eric Berne's original Games People Play, but what I have read by him is very clear, sensible, and meaningful. Berne uses clear everyday examples to illustrate his points. His writing is focused and generally tightly confined to the topic. Harris wanders way out into errant speculation as a matter of course. Blanket statements about society and moral decay, criticisms of organized religion, meandering discussions of philosophy, spirituality, and mystical experience, race relations in America, the nature of warfare, hippies and 1960s American counterculture (and the social forces that caused it), adolescent rebellion, violence in the media, rational basis for theories of ethics, proper use of time, prejudice in families and society, the state of marriage in America, international politics, the cause of the Vietnam war (in terms of "Parent" nations and "Child" nations trying to "grow up") etc. etc. etc. As you can see, Harris believes he can do it all in this book and that no topic is either outside the bounds of either the principles of TA or his own expertise. I personally believe that such difficult and involved topics should be left to the professionals, if only because you're liable to look like a jackass with your own ignorant, half-informed opinions. There's an old joke in psychology based on the idea that everyone can do it by virtue of the fact that everyone has a brain (and therefore is an expert); Harris turns the joke on its head by claiming experience in counseling sessions gives him say in all human affairs.
One last nail I'd like to drive in the coffin before I put this one to rest. Harris betrays himself with numerous examples of his own apparent fear of intimacy with other people or willingness to engage others on a meaningful and personal level. It's always strange and in some ways tragic to see a psychotherapist with no insight into his or her own identity and motivation trying to manage the affairs of other people. If you want an example of what not to do in treatment, simply refer to 1) pp. 157-8 - illustrates sophisticated use of P-A-C to make a threat while explicitly claiming not to ("If you keep doing that, you're going to hook my Parent and then we'll both feel bad." Harris labels this Adult and contrasts with "You do that again and I'll slap you silly!" which is, of course, the same message but not veiled in P-A-C doublespeak). 2) pp. 209-10 - Harris quotes long and strikingly clear explanation of group therapy processes by S.R. Slavson, then immediately follows with "In my own clinical experience, I have not been able to validate the above statement." Harris totally and obviously misses Slavson's gist, and then tries to tear down the reasoning. It's painful to watch, and brings to mind the old Chinese saying "Riding an ass and being unwilling to dismount."
In sum, don't waste your time. I finished this one so you won't have to. Put the word out on the wire and stick to the orginal Eric Berne.
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4 out of 5
by
John
from
Wheaton, IL | Jun 11, 2008
Snopsis, although not mine, of the Book - Over 7 Million sold per Amazon.
Transactional Analysis delineates three observable ego-states (Parent, Adult, and Child) as the basis for the content and quality of interpersonal communication. "Happy childhood" notwithstanding, says Harris, most of us are living out the Not ok feelings of a defenseless child, dependent on ok others (parents) for stroking and caring. At some stage early in our lives we adopt a "position" about ourselves and others that determines how we feel about everything we do. And for a huge portion of the population, that position is "I'm Not OK -- You're OK." This negative "life position," shared by successful and unsuccessful people alike, contaminates our rational Adult capabilities, leaving us vulnerable to inappropriate emotional reactions of our Child and uncritically learned behavior programmed into our Parent. By exploring the structure of our personalities and understanding old decisions, Harris believes we can find the freedom to change our lives
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4 out of 5
by
Beez
from
Houston, TX | Apr 22, 2009
So many of us read this book in the late 60s/early 70s. Teaches us about various stations of life that perhaps we can get caught in...sometimes creating a negative approach in the way we view life.
Understanding the Child, Parent, Adult mentalities, we can change the way we view life and the way we react to it.