the smithy

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Our overall purpose is to support you to consolidate and express your identity as a transactional analyst, and so complete your CTA. The smithy is a combination of a led and a peer learning process: thus each day is in 5 parts (the first and last taking less than half an hour each) —

• a brief checking in, and updating of your progress on CTA and your overall timeline to complete.
• bringing a piece of writing, one side is plenty, to read aloud. This helps you develop your own 'voice' in the written CTA (this is a key aspect in terms of assessment — and often what people find the most difficult: putting your self into the writing — mainly because schoolwork and professional report writing encourages taking your self out of the writing!).This part of the process helps others to listen for 'voice' and phenomenologically observe, and so differentiate and turn up the volume on their own 'voice'. It also helps us all to establish what is required in the written exam — whatever the field.
• theory — in the first session we will establish what TA concepts people wish to get more depth in, and plan how we will do this. It could be that we all read the same paper or book; or that there is a request to me to 'go over' a concept; or that one of you or a small group decide to get to grips with an idea and present it back.
• recordings — This is to get comfortable with what is required in the exam. Everyone I have supported to CTA has regretted not practicing analysing recordings enough and therefore ending up in lots of extra supervision getting to grips with what is wanted and then having to find exam level recordings! At the first session we will set up a costa to look at a minimum of 2 each time. Then you bring a recording to play plus a transcript of five minutes where you clearly make interventions and there is an ego state change audible (and visible if you want to bring video) in the individual or group.
• a brief review of your learning.

  Interwoven will be an attention to you and your process. The CTA is not an accumulation of cognitive suggests presented to examiners; it is rather a showing of yourself as a transactional analyst — and always a work in progress. Most people meet their script along the way; the experience of peers going through the same process in their own ways is enormously supportive. My role is to hold and contain this collective process — hence a maximum of six participants.

  This process at TAworks is called 'the smithy' — because it is about forging your identity as a transactional analyst. The blacksmith's forge, with the heat and hammering, is a metaphor conjured up by a CTA candidate and became our name, summing up our purpose.

  All those I have worked with who have done their CTA have marvelled at how their commitment to the process of doing it lifted them to another level in their practice! And the sense of satisfaction in showing themselves to the written and oral examiners was deeply satisfying and memorable!

  There will be a regular Smithy workshop for those wishing to forge their CTA written and oral exams on a Monday and occasional weekday PTSTA workshops throughout the year.

  Six people is a maximum viable number of participants. There are nine sessions to build a rhythm, and reference points for you and your writing and recordings. Many people use the group for two years in order to fully prepare the written CTA.

  If you would like to be a member of this group, have at least 450 hours of TA training and want to go on to CTA please contact me on rosemary.napper@tamatters.com or on WhatsApp +447887780525 as soon as you can..

  The total cost will be about £1200 (instalments possible). Normally if people are beginning CTA writing it takes two years — less if they already have done some!