Six Steps for the First Interview: Establishing the Frame and Work Environment in Transactional Psychoanalysis

Abstract

This article outlines the analytical principles of psychodynamically oriented transactional analysis as applied to the first clinical interview. Several of Eric Berne's concepts are reexamined and then integrated with those of other transactional analysis authors and with techniques originating from Robert Langs's communicative psychoanalysis. Both methodological and strategic perspectives are used to examine the idea of constructing the setting as a crucial moment in the development of an effective working alliance.

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