WHY TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS WORKS:  
      A THEORY OF THERAPEUTIC CHANGE IN SOCIAL-COGNITIVE TRANSACTIONAL 
                    ANALYSIS PSYCHOTHERAPY  
                             
                             
                          Authors 
                             
      Laura Bastianelli is a psychologist, psychotherapist, and Teaching and Supervising Transactional 
      Analyst (psychotherapy). She lives and works in Rome, in private practice and as a lecturer at the 
      Salesian University in the Upper School for Specialization in Clinical Psychology and a trainer in the 
      Institute of Training and Research for Educators and Psychotherapists (IFREP). She is member of 
      Lab for  Research  on  Self  and  Identity  (LaRSI)  of  IRPIR  and  she’s  has  been  the  chair  of  the 
      transactional analysis Theory Development and Research Committee of the European Association 
      for Transactional Analysis. She can be reached at Via Ermogene, 52, 00124 Rome, Italy. 
      Email: l.bastianelli@tiscali.it 
       
      Maria Teresa Tosi is a psychologist, psychotherapist, and Teaching and Supervising Transactional 
      Analyst  (psychotherapy).  She  lives  in  Rome,  Italy,  where  she  works  in  private  practice  as  a 
      psychotherapist and supervisor. She is also a lecturer at the Salesian University in the Upper School 
      for Specialization in Clinical Psychology and a trainer in the Institute of Training and Research for 
      Educators and Psychotherapists (IFREP). She is member of Lab for Research on Self and Identity 
      (LaRSI) of IRPIR. She can be reached at Via Anapo 29, 00199 Rome, Italy;  
      e-mail: mt.tosi@fastwebnet.it. 
       
      Rosanna Giacometto is a psychologist, psychotherapist and professional counsellor, Teaching and 
      Supervising Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy). She lives in Rome where she works in private 
       
      
     practice as psychotherapist. She is also a lecturer at the Pontifical Salesian University in the Upper 
     School of Specialisation in Clinical Psychology (SSSPC-UPS) and a trainer at the Master in socio-
     educational counselling in the Institute of Training and Research for Educators and Psychotherapists 
     (IFREP). She is member of Lab for Research on Self and Identity (LaRSI) of IRPIR. She is member 
     of EATA, IRPIR (TA Italian Association affiliated to EATA) and ITAA. She can be reached at Via 
     Riccardo Grazioli Lante 15/a, 00193 Rome, Italy; email: rgiacometto@gmail.com. 
      
     Cinzia  Messana  is  a  Teaching  and  Supervising  Transactional  Analyst  (psychotherapy)  and  a 
     psychologist, psychotherapist, and professor of personality psychology at the Pontifical Salesian 
     University (UPS) in Rome. She is also trainer and director of the Pontifical Salesian University’s 
     Upper School for Specialization in Clinical Psychology and a trainer at both the IFREP’s Upper 
     School for Clinical Psychology and at the School of Specialization in Interpersonal and Group 
     Psychotherapy (SSPIG) in Palermo. In addition, Cinzia is a member of the Laboratory for Research 
     on Self and Identity (LaRSI) of IRPIR. She can be reached at Via Bagnone, 59, 00139 Rome, Italy; 
     email: messana@unisal.it 
      
     Davide Ceridono is a psychologist, psychotherapist, and CTA Trainer (psychotherapy). He lives and 
     works in Rome, in private practice and as a lecturer at the Salesian University in the Upper School 
     for Specialization in Clinical Psychology and a trainer in the Institute of Training and Research for 
     Educators  and  Psychotherapists  (IFREP)  and  in  the  Specialization  School  in  Transactional 
     Psychotherapy (SSPT) in Latina. He is the director of Lab for Research on Self and Identity (LaRSI) 
     of IRPIR. He can be reached at Via F. Tozzi, 40, 00137 Rome, Italy; email: ceridavid@katamail.com 
      
     Disclosure Statement 
     The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or 
     publication of this article. 
      
      
      
     Funding 
     The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this 
     article. 
                  
      
      
               WHY TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS WORKS:  
       REASONS FOR A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION OF CHANGE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY 
      
      Key words: Social-cognitive transactional analysis, memory reconsolidation, ego states, schema, 
                      clinical research. 
                           
     Abstract 
     The article presents a possible explanation for the efficacy of Transactional Analysis (TA) oriented 
     psychotherapy, throughout the current dialogue between TA methodology and the reconsolidation 
     process, discovered by neuroscientists at the end of last century. This hypothesis can enrich the debate 
     between  psychotherapy  models  about  the  issue  of  the  common  yet  specific  factor  of  change, 
     promoting the integration of psychotherapies. Furthermore, the shift in the definition of ego states 
     according to the theory of schema operated by social-cognitive transactional analysis is offered as a 
     solid theoretical base to develop clinical research lines capable to integrate the analysis of quantitative 
     and  qualitative  data,  outcome  and  process  studies,  and  verify  the  reconsolidation  as  specific 
     ingredient of change hypothesis, for the benefit of clinicians, clients and trainees. 
       
     Introduction 
     We have come a long way since Eysenck in 1952 published a provocative article where he claimed 
     that psychotherapy wasn’t more effective than the simple passage of time: based on data that he 
     collected, psychotherapy wasn’t more effective than spontaneous remission without any treatment. 
     Although the methodology of that article has been strongly criticized (Bergin, 1971), it had the merit 
     of stimulating the debate and the empirical research on the effectiveness of psychotherapy, instead of 
     just  settle  for  subjective  interpretations  of  therapists  and/or  clients.  From  then,  studies  and 
     publications have been increasing a lot and in many quarters the effectiveness of psychotherapy, or 
     rather the effectiveness of various psychotherapies, was confirmed and accepted. (see, e.g., Bergin, 
     1971; Lambert, 2013; Norcross, VandenBoss & Freedheim, 2016a).