The indication and limitation of transactional analysis(TA) was discussed from the point of view that the patient's basic communication pattern was projected into the doctor-patient relationship. The authors applied TA to the patients with post-operative abdominal disturbance, anorexia nervosa and bronchial asthma, and the following points were made clear. 1. TA can be a useful tool to establish rapport with the patient. To do this, the doctor needs to grasp his own communication pattern, the patient's transactional pattern and a pattern which is created in the doctor-patient relationship. 2. TA helps the therapist to observe what is taking place in the process of treatment, particularly to facilitate the patient's understanding of the mind-body relationship on the basis of this observation. 3. TA can be helpful for the patient to express his emotions in a manner which is appropriate for his interpersonal relations. This requires a certain amount of time for the patient to be quite well acquainted with TA. 4. TA can be used as a means of education and guidance for the patients with considerable ego strength. 5. Aggravation can be prevented by teaching the patient to review the course of his own illness using the TA language. 6. TA should not be used for the patients having"basic fault" in terms of his personality development.
