For this final webinar of the year, we have three presentations - Aleksi Heinonen and Sanna Salmi from Finland will be talking about TA, good practice in a therapeutic community for recovering addicts and Maria Luisa and Cinzia Messana, from Italy, will be presenting on The ‘Grief and Growth Therapy’: an Integrative Model in a TA Framework and Iryna Tepalenka who will talk to us about using AI possibilities in TA Psychotherapy.

We will take some time at the end to ask for your feedback and reflections on this year of webinars on TA Best Practice

The timings are:

GMT - 18.00 - 19.30

CET - 19.00 - 20.30

EET - 20.00 - 21.30

This event will be translated into German, Ukrainian, Italian, French, Russian, and English where necessary. It will not be recorded

TA, a good practice in a therapeutic community for recovering addicts

Transactional Analysis (TA) provides a valuable framework for understanding human behaviour and interpersonal relationships. It offers a common language for exploring various phenomena in our lives, past, present, and future.

The primary goal of our presentation is to illustrate the effectiveness of TA in supporting the transformative journey of individuals recovering from addiction. We aim to demonstrate how TA can facilitate the process of identity change, from a self-destructive pattern to a more authentic and fulfilling life.

We will delve into specific TA concepts that we have found particularly useful in our work, such as:

Game Analysis: Understanding and challenging self-defeating patterns of behaviour.
Ego States: Examining the different parts of our personality (Parent, Adult, Child).
Life Positions: Exploring core beliefs about oneself and others.
Scripts: Identifying and modifying self-limiting life plans.
Self-Reparenting: Developing healthier ways of relating to oneself.

Through practical examples and discussion, we hope to shed light on the potential of TA as a powerful tool for recovery and personal growth.

Aleksi Heinonen

Registered nurse, Master’s degree of nursing and social work (working with marginalization), In TA training as a transactional analyst (Psychotherapy), Vice president of FinTA (Finnish TA association)

Aleksi has been working in the field of substance abuse and addiction for almost 15 years.

While working in the therapeutic community in Helsinki, Aleksi has successfully used TA and trauma-oriented work methods to help recovering people help themselves to achieve a better and more meaningful life.

Sanna Salmi

Practical nurse and am currently studying for a degree in Social Sciences, TA training at an advanced level

Sanna has a long career working in different therapeutic communities and in the world of recovering addicts. She currently works in a therapeutic community in Helsinki.

Her passion is to help recovering addicts by using TA’s various theories and tools in the context of community treatment.

The ‘Grief and Growth Therapy’: an Integrative Model in a TA Framework

The webinar is dedicated to the topic of grief in the clinical practice of Transactional Analysts and to the proposal of an approach to work on grief that was created by transactional analysts: ‘The Grief and Growth Therapy’ (De Luca et al., 2015; De Luca 2023). Berne did not deal with the theme of grief/mourning and, in addition to the questionable practice of 'Goodbyes' and references to the Kubler-Ross stages, a coherent transactional analytical framework on the topic is missing, as Bill
Cornell (2014) and Richard Erskine (2014) have been well highlighted. This model is a proposal that goes in the direction of creating a framework for grief in AT taking care of the necessary development of the therapist’s Death Competence (Gamino & Ritter, 2009).

Maria Luisa TSTA (P) Maria Luisa De Luca, TSTA(P), psychologist, psychotherapist, professor of General Psychopathology, Developmental Psychopathology, Emergency Mental Health at Pontifical Salesian University (UPS), Rome, EMDR practitioner. Trainer at post-degree graduate schools: Scuola Superiore in Psicologia Clinical (IFREP); Scuola Superiore di Specializzazione in Psicologia Clinica (UPS); Co-director of the Journal Psicologia, Psicoterapia e Benessere (published by IRPIR); Member of the Laboratory for Research on Self and Identity (LARSI) founded by Pio Scilligo. Creator of the “Grief and Growth Therapy” model and author of the book “Psicoterapia per il lutto. La Grief and Growth therapy: un modello integrato in una cornice di Analisi Transazionale” (Psychotherapy for Grief. The Grief and Growth Therapy: An Integrated Model in a Transactional Analysis Framework). Author of several scientific publications, among others, co-authored with M. T. Tosi: Social-Cognitive Transactional Analysis: An Introduction to Pio Scilligo’sModel of Ego States, TAJ, 2011, 206-220. Maria can be reached at: deluca@unisal.it

Cinzia Messana TSTA(P): Psychotherapist, Teacher, and Supervisor at the Superior School of Specialization in Clinical Psychology of the Salesian Pontifical University of Rome and at the School of Specialization in Clinical Psychology of IRPIR-IFREP of Rome. Emeritus professor at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the Salesian Pontifical University of Rome. Vice President of the “Grief and Growth” Association. Cinzia can be reached at: cinzia.messana@gmail.com

AI Possibilities in TA Psychotherapy

In a world where technology is constantly evolving, artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming an integral part of many sectors. Today, AI can create illustrations, write books, compose songs, and even correct code written by programmers. The healthcare industry in general and psychotherapy in particular have also been enriched with a range of AI tools, opening new horizons in practice. The scope of such tools is impressive: from chatbots providing initial psychological assistance to complex algorithms that analyze therapy sessions and offer personalized recommendations.

Despite these advancements, the integration of AI into psychotherapy brings numerous challenges and questions.

I invite you to explore together the possibilities of AI for psychotherapy and the potential challenges.

Iryna Tepalenko, CTA-P, Ukraine.

Almost all of my psychotherapy practice is now conducted online. First, it was COVID, and now there is a war in my country, with most of my clients scattered around the world.

This has motivated me to use modern technologies even more intensively. This is a new part of my practice, and I am happy to share my experience with anyone interested.

EATA Webinar Series - TA Best Practice