Language: Bilingual French and English
Level of audience: Advanced

What place does spirituality have in our thinking and practice as Transactional Analysts?

During this workshop, we will focus on the place of spirituality – religious or not – in the development of the relationships with oneself, with others and with the world through the way we think about and practice TA as professionals in our field. We hypothesize that the place of spirituality in this development may vary depending on our cultural backgrounds and frames of reference.

We will present a theoretical perspective on spirituality in TA based on our reading and synthesis of writings, notably those of B. Clarkson, M. James, Z. Mellacqua, K. Mellor and R. Sandle.

Then, we propose working in subgroups in order to create a space for sharing and intercultural dialogue. We will question the following themes together:

• How does spirituality as cultural heritage and personal appropriation influence participants’ identity as a TA practitioner?
• What place does spirituality have in their reflections on TA?
• What place do participants give to these subjects in their practice of TA?

The objectives of this workshop are: to share theoretical elements in TA on these questions; to create a space for intercultural dialogue on these themes (as initiated during the French-speaking workshop in Lille in 2023); and to enrich the research that we are carrying out on this theme. Participants will be able to take away some elements of spiritual TA theory and to enrich their thinking and their frame of reference on these themes.