In this video I explain the Transactional Analysis (TA) concept of life positions and The OK Corral. Eric Berne, the founder of TA suggests that as a young child you have already formed certain beliefs about yourself and others. The life positions were put in a quadrant by Franklin Ernst in 1971, Ernst called the quadrant the Ok Corral.
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🔵 CHAPTERS
0:00 Life positions and the OK Corral
0:44 I'm OK, you're OK
1:53 I'm not OK, you're OK
2:37 I'm OK, you're not OK
3:40 I'm not OK, you're not OK
4:48 Differences between Berne and Ernst
5:36 How to change your life position
🔵 I’M OKAY, YOU’RE OK
Joshua’s parents were attentive and loving. As a child Joshua has a fundamental sense that his parents were trustworthy, loving and supportive people. This enabled him to view himself as innately worthy, valuable and lovable hence Joshua’s life position of ‘’m okay, you’re okay. As an adult Joshua extended this view to others by an attitude of openness, honesty and trust. If you occupy the I’m ok, you’re ok life position you will be accepting of yourself and others. This life position is known as the healthy position.
🔵 I’M NOT OKAY AND YOU’RE OKAY
Charlie’s mother was a barrister and his father a surgeon. His parents worked hard but were emotionally unavailable. They pushed Charlie to achieve academically and they were frequently critical of his grades at school. In reality Charlie worked exceptionally hard at school and thought this would please his parents but it was never good enough in their eyes. Charlie never felt good enough. The I’m not okay, you’re okay position is know as the depressive or one down position. It is characterised by feeling powerless and feeling inferior in comparison with others.
🔵 I’M OKAY, YOUR NOT OKAY
Juliet, the 25 year old daughter of a wealthy restaurateur adopts the life position I’m ok, you’re not ok. Juliet is working her way up in her mothers business with the view of eventually taking over the chain of restaurants. Juliet feels superior and is critical of others, she projects her disdain onto anyone she perceived as inferior. This position requires that there be someone to be ‘less than’ in order to maintain the sense that you are ok.
🔵 I’M NOT OK, YOU’RE NOT OK
Sean's father has mental health issues and although he stayed at home all day he was emotionally unavailable. Seans mum worked hard to provide for the family but was either at work, doing the house work or too tired to engage. Sean was bullied at school and never found the opportunity to tell his parents. He felt alone in the world with no love or support from anyone. At only ten years old Sean started to self-harm as a way of expressing his deep inner pain. As teenager Sean first girlfriend cheated on him which served to reinforced his life position I’m not ok and you’re not ok. This life position is known is known as the position of hopelessness and frustration.
🔵 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BERNE AND ERNST
There are slight differences between Berne and Ernst and their conceptualisation of life positions. Berne described your life position as a total life direction, fairly fixed and not easy to change. Ernst believes we can shift between positions for example, you might operate from the I’m ok and you’re not ok position at home and shift to the I’m not ok and your not ok position when talking to your manager. You may then shift to the I’m ok and you’re ok position when talking to your best friend.
🔵 ABOUT TERESA LEWIS
Teresa Lewis is the founder and Director of Lewis Psychology and a Senior Accredited psychotherapist with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP Snr. Accred). Qualified in 1995, Teresa has been providing counselling and psychotherapy treatment for nearly 30 years. Teresa holds a masters degree in counselling and psychotherapy and is a qualified EMDR Practitioner having completed training accredited with EMDR Europe. Teresa is also a qualified adult educator and an accredited Mindfulness teacher As a recognised expert in her field Teresa is frequently asked to conduct editorial reviews and endorse counselling and psychotherapy books for international publishing houses.
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🔵 GRAPHICS AND THUMBNAIL
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