A transactional analyst practises transactional analysis, an approach developed by Eric Berne that understands people as operating from three internal states, Parent, Adult and Child, each carrying its own characteristic way of thinking, feeling and responding. Difficulties are traced back to patterns learned early in life, and to the repeating exchanges, or transactions, that these patterns go on to produce with other people.
An accessible model
Part of what makes transactional analysis distinctive is how deliberately accessible the model is. The language of Parent, Adult and Child states is straightforward enough that people tend to recognise their own patterns fairly quickly once they understand the framework, and can go on using that same language to make sense of situations outside the therapy room, something that is less common with more technical therapeutic models.
Where it is applied
Transactional analysis is used for relationship difficulties, self-esteem, communication problems at work, and long-standing patterns that keep repeating across different situations and relationships. It is also applied more widely in organisational and educational settings, where its accessible framework for understanding communication between people has found a use well beyond individual therapy.