Jo Stuthridge Prague conference Script or Scripture: A post-cartesian perspective

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1 Jo Stuthridge Prague conference 2010 Script or Scripture: A post-cartesian perspective A theory is essentially a story. A robust theoretical narrative is coherent, flexible and capable of integrating new ideas or changing over time. A robust theory is like a healthy self-narrative it can be updated to include new experience. My current thoughts about script theory represent an attempt to incorporate some recent findings from developmental research. If our theory doesn t keep abreast of new ideas, script could become scripture. It could calcify into a rigid or dogmatic narrative, like a selflimiting personal script. We no longer think of the mind as an autonomous, isolated, disembodied entity. Cartesian assumptions about the separation of mind and body, thinking and feeling, have been replaced by a view of the mind as embedded in relational, emotional and bodily experience. You can see René Descartes on the left of the slide and on the right a more contemporary or Post-Cartesian view of the mind. The developmental research points to 3 broad conclusions which invite us to reconceptualise script in TA theory and practice. The first conclusion we can draw is that: 1. The mind develops in co-created relationships. Developmental science and psychoanalysis have recently met at a cross-roads where there is a common understanding that the mind emerges from interaction between neurophysiological processes and early relationships. Attachment researchers, neuroscientists and relational psychoanalysts use different concepts to explain how interpersonal experience is internalised to form the building blocks of the mind. For example Bowlby (1973) used the term internal working model to describe representations of self and other. Daniel Stern (1985) refers to representations of interactions that have been generalised (or R.I.G s). Lyons-Ruth (1998) talks about patterns of implicit relational knowing while Stephen Mitchell (1988), a zsychoanalyst refers to relational configurations within the mind. Drawing on neuroscience Daniel Siegel (1999) describes how interaction between infant and carer creates repetitive patterns of neural firing in the infant s brain which form enduring states of mind. These theorists all agree that our internal world is shaped by early relational experience. This idea, that interpersonal experience forms the basis of the intrapsychic structure of the mind is a foundational tenet of transactional analysis. We would say these repeated non-verbal transactions (such as touch and facial expressions), between an infant and caregiver are internalised to form a series of Child and Parent ego states. In functional terms, these early blueprints for relating create a protocol, a nonconscious relational pattern which forms the core of the script. Let s look at the example of baby Doris and her mother. Mum often feels tired, angry and exasperated when baby Doris cries. On a bad day she ignores Doris and leaves her to cry until she stops. Doris feels as if she is alone in the world. These transactions are repeated over and over in the first few years. As Doris grows up she internalises this whole relationship forming a rejecting Parent introject (based on her experience of Mum) and a despairing or lonely Child ego state. This relational pattern forms the protocol or kernel of Doris s script. As an adult she denies her needs for closeness and ignores her own feelings, just as her mother did. Doris tends to avoid other people or feel rejected, reinforcing a rigid script over time.

2 The second broad conclusion the developmental research points to is that: 2. The mind is embodied. The infant s attachment pattern or protocol seems to be reasonably stable by 12 months of age. There is some consensus that these patterns are encoded in implicit memory (Cozolino, 2002; Siegel, 1999). This means that core script patterns are not stored in explicit, conscious memory but in somatic, affective and sensorimotor experience. We could say that script is embedded in the body. Implicit memory cannot be consciously recalled but it can be activated in the present, unconsciously influencing current perceptions of relationships. These patterns are experienced as bodily sensations, feelings and characteristic ways of relating. Thus script patterns reside in non-verbal experience in the present, not in explicit memories of past events. The evidence from neuroscience confirms the idea that script is embedded in bodily and emotional experience. Damasio (1994), a neurobiologist, presents a convincing argument in his book Descartes Error, that reason or thought is anchored in feelings. This is contrary to the idea that most of us grew up with, that thinking and feeling are separate functions. Damasio argues that cognitive decisions arise from gut feelings, which in turn depend on our ability to read bodily signals. He describes the mind as a map of the body s changing landscape. Traditionally transactional analysts have assumed that change occurs within the realm of script beliefs, focusing therapy on verbal interaction, content and cognition. Damasio s (1994) hypothesis suggests the reverse: that fundamental change requires a shift at the level of bodily emotional experience. Cognitive challenges to beliefs about self, others and life are unlikely to produce lasting change. Instead the therapist needs to read the client s bodily expressions, such as breathing, gestures and feelings to decipher a client s script, rather than quizzing to unearth decisions made in the past. To borrow a line from Mitchell (1997), the therapist is more like a war correspondent reporting from the front line than an archaeologist. Transactional analysis has followed these wider developments with a gradual shift in emphasis away from internal and cognitive processes (such as decisions, injunctions or beliefs) towards interpersonal and affective processes. My aim here is to encourage this development. The third and perhaps most significant finding is that; 3. Coherent self-narrative in a parent predicts secure attachment in a child. Attachment research provides compelling evidence that the structure of one s self-narrative is more crucial to psychological health, than the content of the narrative. Take the Adult Attachment Interview. It focuses on how a story is told rather than its content by analysing the transcripts of conversations. For example researchers analyse sentence structure, grammar and clarity of a transcript, not the content. These findings show that coherent self-narrative in a parent is a robust predictor of secure attachment in a child (Fonagy, Steele, & Steele, 1991a). Likewise incoherent narrative in a parent will usually lead to insecure attachment in children. Why? It seems that a parent s ability to make sense of their experience is more important than the events in a person s history. The parent s narrative pattern will actually predict the infant s attachment pattern with a rate of 75% accuracy even before the child is born (Fonagy, et al., 1991a; van IJzendoorn, 1995).This stunning finding throws new light on how we think about script and the therapeutic relationship. The development of coherent selfnarrative may be key to preventing the intergenerational transmission of trauma and self-limiting script. The evidence from longitudinal studies shows that it is possible to develop coherence later in

3 life, despite deprivation or trauma. A secure relationship like marriage or long term psychotherapy is the most common route to transformation. In TA terms we can think of this capacity to integrate experience into a coherent self-narrative as a function of the Adult ego. Peter Fonagy (2002)and his colleagues elaborated the attachment research, focusing on this capacity to integrate and reflect on experience. They refer to this as mentalising. Mentalising concerns the ability to understand mental states underlying behaviour in ourselves and others. This process allows us to realise that our minds mediate our experience of the world. There are strong correlations between mentalising, insight and intimacy, qualities we normally associate with the Adult ego. Fonagy s research demonstrates that the development of this reflective ability depends on adequate attunement from a caregiver. Contrary to what Berne thought, it seems we are not born with a capacity for Adult ego integration. Rather, the Adult ego is a developmental achievement. When a mother accurately mirrors her infant s feeling states, the infant integrates a congruent representation of himself as seen, felt and touched by mother. For example he develops a sense of himself as lovable, angry or sad. We co-construct self-narrative through this process of contingent attunement. A lack of contingent mirroring will lead to aspects of the child s experience remaining unintegrated or disowned. So there is a circular relationship between internal narrative patterns in adults and and behavioural attachment patterns in children. A parent s ability to mentalise is crucial to the development of secure attachment in children and a secure relationship is essential for the development of mentalising. In sum 1. The first principle concerns the crucial role of relationships in child development. A confluence of evidence from several fields suggests that the mind develops in a relational context. 2. The second principle highlights the importance of non-verbal, emotional and behavioural patterns in development. 3. The third principle focuses on the internal narrative behind behavioural patterns. Fonagy argues that the whole purpose of secure attachment is to equip the child with a capacity to mentalise. This ability to reflect on our mental states or stand back from experience, liberates us from repetitive relational patterns. What are the Implications for Transactional Analysis? We might conclude that interaction between the infant and caregiver produces two key outcomes: 1. Firstly; a matrix of Child and Parent ego states derived from early relationships. 2. And secondly; a process of integration, which can be conceived as a function of the Adult ego. The Adult ego allows us to create a sense of continuity and identity. It gathers disparate states of mind, like scattered beads, with a narrative thread. The Adult ego allows us to create a story about the self, or a narrative self. This Adult capacity to integrate experience into narrative will be more or less well developed, according to the quality of attunement that a child receives from others. With adequate mirroring a child develops an ability to mentalise and integrate conflicting experiences into a complex self-narrative. The child creates a flexible narrative that can be updated by new experiences. Subjectively, coherent self-narrative creates congruence and fluidity within the self, in the same way that an orchestra score creates harmony from a diverse range of instruments and notes.

4 When a child s experience of mirroring is poor, the Adult ego s capacity to integrate experience is compromised. The child develops an incoherent script and a disconnected sense of self. Incoherent script is a bit like living with background music that is discordant. The script becomes a prison that is closed to new information. Experiences that are not validated by an attachment figure remain unintegrated and excluded from conscious thought. Bromberg (2006)a psychoanalyst, likens these dissociated experiences to snapshots that have not been put in an album. Experience that is not integrated into narrative has no voice or words. Instead unsymbolised experiences are reenacted in the present, creating repetitive transference patterns, games and script drama. Definition So at this point we can formulate a new definition of script. Script can be defined as an internal narrative process, which manifests externally as a predictable emotional and embodied pattern of relating to self and other. This definition includes two key processes: the internal and external. Internally, script is essentially a self-narrative process that organises the mind, life experiences and sense of identity. Self-narrative can either link or fragment our sense of self. My focus here is on the structure of script rather than content - the relative coherence or incoherence, rigidity or flexibility of the self-narrative. Externally, script is concerned with unconscious relational patterns. Berne s(1961) use of the term script evokes images of the theatre. Parent and Child ego states form the cast of characters which occupy the mind s stage, interacting with others to play out, quote, a dynamically progressive transference drama (p.174). Behind the scenes, a script dictates the action. I am interested in the interaction between the interpersonal drama and the intrapsychic narrative. The workshop this afternoon will focus on how these ideas can be used in therapy and I ll give some examples from work with my clients. At this stage I will recap the three developmental principles I began with and sketch an outline of how this conception of script might influence our practice. Implications for therapy 1. If the mind develops in a relational context, it follows that psychotherapy must also use a relational process to foster ongoing development. Two minds are needed. We used to say, based on Cartesian assumptions, that if the child decides her script she can re-decide. Methods of change focused on intrapsychic processes such as decontamination or redecision. A contemporary view of the mind gives rise to a new premise that if relationships form script they can also transform script. Accordingly we need methods that focus on interpersonal more than the intrapsychic dynamics. Berne encouraged the therapist to be an objective observer, using a Martian perspective to detect script beliefs in the client. A post-cartesian approach to therapy requires an intersubjective process. The therapist must put herself in the picture and utilise her subjective experience to discover the client s script. 2. The second principle, the idea that the mind or script is embodied, underscores the importance of attending to non-verbal experience. We need to shift our focus from cognition and verbal interaction to feelings, actions and bodily experiences. David Wallin (2007) suggests that the client who has no words for his disowned experience, will embody it, enact it or evoke it in others. He is referring to somatic symptoms, transferential script enactments and projective identification.

5 3. Coherent self-narrative in a parent predicts secure attachment in a child. This third finding points to the goal of therapy. Adult clients, like children, need a responsive attuned relationship. A therapist with a coherent self-narrative is better able to enhance their client s capacity to mentalise. So the ultimate goal of therapy is less about script content, and more about process; in other words, the client s capacity to author coherent self-narrative. By gathering up the unwanted parts of self, the bits that have been embodied, enacted or projected, therapy enables the client to develop a more congruent, coherent and whole sense of self. The aim is to move from enacting the script to reflecting. The client moves from being an actor in her script to being the script writer. In sum, a Cartesian view of script change emphasises an objective approach, intrapsychic process and cognitive beliefs. A post-cartesian view, on the other hand, emphasises the intersubjective: interpersonal processes, bodily sensations and feelings. As a community, we can help our clients to the extent that we are willing to reflect on our ideas and create vibrant theory that is open to new information: in short script rather scripture. Jo Stuthridge References Berne, E. (1961). Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy. New York: Grove Press (Reprinted New York: Ballantine Books, 1975). Bowlby, B. (1973). Attachment and Loss, Vol. 2. Separation: Anxiety and Anger. New York: Basic Books. Bromberg, P. (2006). Awakening the Dreamer. Mahwah NJ, London: The Analytic Press. Cozolino, L. (2002). The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy. New York, London: W. W. Norton and Company. Damasio, A. (1994). Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain. London: Macmillan. Fonagy, P., Gergely, G., Jurist, E., & Target, M. (2002). Affect Regulation, Mentalization, and the Development of the Self. New York: Other Press. Fonagy, P., Steele, H., & Steele, M. (1991a). Maternal representations of attachment during pregnancy predict the organization of infant-mother attachment at one year of age. Child Development, 62, Lyons-Ruth, K. (1998). Implicit relational knowing: Its role in development and psychoanalytic treatment. Infant Mental Health Journal, 19, Mitchell, S. (1988). Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Mitchell, S. (1997). Influence and Autonomy in Psychoanalysis (2008 ed.). New York, London: Psychology Press. Siegel, D. (1999). The Developing Mind. New York: The Guilford Press. Stern, D. (1985). The Interpersonal World of the Infant. New York: Basic Books. van IJzendoorn, M. (1995). Adult attachment representations, parental responsiveness and infant attachment: A meta-analysis on the predictive validity of the Adult Attachment Interview. Psychological Bulletin, 117, Wallin, D. J. (2007). Attachment in Psychotherapy. New York: The Guilford Press