Abstract
Transactional analysis is uniquely positioned to follow Berne’s (1972) encouragement to use “ancient religious stories” (p. 438) in “understanding…spirituality and its complex interfaces with religiosity and religious psychopathology” (Mellacqua, 2016, p. 149). Although there have been some attempts to integrate transactional analysis with religion (e.g., James, 1981), TA still lacks an easy-to-use model that can be employed by all psychotherapists, regardless of their religious persuasion. Almost everyone has been influenced by religion, so it is important that therapists are confident venturing into this area. The author discusses the ancient Greek concept of knowing consisting of logoi (knowing through logic and science) and mythoi (knowing through religious stories) and then presents what he calls the pilgrim model, which is based on classical transactional analysis. This model can be used to work with people of all faiths and could provide a basis for further development of religious or spiritual transactional analysis.
Notes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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Peter Milnes
Peter Milnes, PhD, MEdAdmin, BDiv, BEd, GradDipIntercultural, Certified Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy), is a psychotherapist and codirector of Psychology Australia, Mt. Lawley. Peter and his partner, Dr. Genevieve Milnes, live in the small rural town of Kendenup and practice in Perth and Albany, Western Australia. Peter can be reached at 10 Grosvenor Rd., Mt. Lawley, Western Australia 6050; email: [email protected].