ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Time Structuring: How Are You Spending Your Time?
We all have 24 hours in a day, but have you ever stopped to think about how you structure that time when you are with other people?
In this episode of TA Therapy Ain’t Just White, Mike, Wendy, Craig and Robyn explore Eric Berne’s concept of Time Structuring — six different ways we organise our time and relationships: Withdrawal, Rituals, Pastimes, Activities, Games and Intimacy.
But, as always, we don’t just leave the theory on the page.
What happens when we look at Time Structuring through a cultural and intersectional lens? Who taught us the “right” way to interact with others? How might culture, race, gender, faith, family and social expectations influence whether we withdraw, follow familiar rituals, keep conversations safely on the surface or risk allowing ourselves to be genuinely seen?
We explore how each way of structuring time can meet our need for strokes — recognition and acknowledgement from others — while carrying different levels of psychological risk. We also reflect on what happens when the ways we learned to stay safe, belong or gain recognition earlier in life continue shaping how we relate as adults.
And eventually, the conversation brings us to intimacy — not simply closeness, but the possibility of showing up authentically in relationship without hiding behind roles, scripts or old survival patterns.
So perhaps the question isn’t simply, “How do you spend your time?”
Maybe it is: What does the way you structure your time reveal about how you have learned to be in relationship with others?
Join us as four trainee psychotherapists continue trying to understand TA, culture and ourselves — in real time.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube.
🔗 linktr.ee/TATAJW 📩 talktotatajw@gmail.com
💬 We'd love to hear from you! What does working through an intersectional lens mean to you? Share your thoughts in the comments.
#TATherapyAintJustWhite #TATAJW #TheIntersectionalLens #VictoriaBaskerville #TransactionalAnalysis #Intersectionality #Psychotherapy #RelationalTherapy #IdentityAndBelonging #InclusiveTherapy #PsychotherapyTraining #TraineeTherapists #RepresentationMatters #TherapyAndCulture
Credits
Music sourced from: Freemusicarchive.org
“The Road” by Ketsa Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)
“Feelings” by 1000 Handz Beatz under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)
Intro and Outro Voice: - Robert, Birmingham
Post-production, editing and transcription: – Candice Nolan, Johannesburg
