Language: French (translation to English)
Level of audience: All

We are four TSTA Education, Psychotherapy, and Organisation professionals from two different nationalities, three of whom have obtained an exemption to mentor a trainee in the counselling field.

On several occasions, we have found ourselves confronted with the difficulty of choosing and validating the field of our future trainee. Some indeed practice a profession at the intersection of several fields. By questioning the boundaries of their field, CTA trainees question us about their legitimacy to respond, as transactional analysts, to requests from people from a different field than theirs. They thus question their identity.

The competencies expected for each professional specialty, as described in the examination manual, provide a framework and answers on which we rely. However, this heritage raises several questions for us that we want to analyse and debate during our workshop. We believe that the context of the world conference is perfectly suited for this.

Thus, the content of our workshop will revolve around the following questions:

1. What does it mean to be a transactional analyst in 2025?
2. On what historical basis were the competencies of each field defined and how do they differ?
3. What are the common competencies expected across all fields?
4. Consequently, can the separation of fields be a handicap or an asset for our identity and legitimacy as transactional analysts? What elements or arguments can justify the defended point of view?
5. In conclusion, what perspectives can be considered to nourish and continue the reflection on this question within our organisations?