From the author: The article was published in: Psychology and pedagogy in the system of humanitarian knowledge. Materials of the international scientific and practical conference. (m. Odessa, Ukraine, May 25-26, 2012). – Odessa, GO: “Pivdenna Foundation of Pedagogy.” 2012 – 96 p. pp. 5-8. PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT OF CYCLES OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE BASIS OF TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS In the history of modern psychology and psychotherapy, many models and stages of personality development have been described. Every representative of our profession is already aware of the psychological significance of this process. However, due to the historical conditions of the formation of psychological thought in the post-Soviet space, many world-famous and dynamically developing areas of psychotherapy remain poorly represented in the practice and theoretical developments of Ukrainian specialists. This statement is true for transactional analysis, both the branch of psychotherapy as a whole, and for models of personality development developed in this method. Russian-speaking specialists may already be familiar with the basic principles and concepts of Transactional Analysis [5, p. 15]. In this work, we will focus on describing the model developed by Pamela Levin [9] and illustrating the possibilities of its use in psychotherapeutic practice. P. Levin identifies six stages of development from birth to eighteen years, each of which implies its own tasks. At each stage, one of the structural ego states of Parent, Adult, Child of the first and second order intensively develops [3, Ch. 2, 4]. At the first stage of “existence”, from birth to six months, the Somatic Child develops intensively (Fig. 1). The task of this stage is to survive, receive care, satisfy basic needs [9, p. 130], and receive strokes [11]. Personal development at this age is negatively affected by parental withdrawal, inadequate responses to the child’s needs, and lack of physical contact. The second stage of “action” lasts up to one and a half years, during which time the ego-state of the Little Professor intensively develops [9, p.131] . The task of this period is to explore the world without restrictions. The child identifies himself with his actions. When actions and cognitive interest are limited by parents, the child may receive a ban on achieving goals [1, p. 37] and a fear of novelty. The third stage of “thinking” lasts from one and a half to three years, during which the Adult ego state develops [9, p. 132]. the child actively masters speech and cause-and-effect thinking, and is psychologically separated from his parents through denial. Here we can trace a natural connection with the manifestations of the crisis at the age of three [2, p.149]. A parent’s prohibition on the child’s own opinion can interfere with normal development at this stage. It is important to let the child think for himself. Emotional literacy begins to form [10, p. 47]. The fourth stage of “identity and strength” takes place between the ages of three and six years [9, p. 133]. Reality is comprehended through the development of fantasy. This is also the age of consolidation of the script [4, p. 29]. Socialization and gender identification occur. If the stage is not passed properly, superstitions and a lack of separation between reality and fantasy arise. The fifth stage of “structure and skills,” which lasts up to twelve years, involves the development of new knowledge and skills, the internalization of norms and rules [9, p.133]. The Parental ego state is formed. At this stage of development, it is important for a child to develop his own rules, which may differ from those of his parents. Finally, the sixth stage of “regeneration” unites all the psychological achievements of the child into a holistic personality [9, p. 134], and the formation of an adult type of sexuality occurs. Characterized by instability of behavior. In this process of integration, the unfavorably passed early stages can be partially compensated. If the child was unable to successfully solve the tasks of the stage, then he moves on to the next one with some “developmental arrest.” In adulthood thismanifests itself as a complex of specific problems, based on the nature of which one can draw a conclusion about the age of its onset. The most interesting point of the concept is the proposal for a cyclical repetition of stages [9, p. 135]. With each cycle, a new stage in life begins, in which there is a chance to complete the process begun at a similar stage of the previous cycle. Thus, in the second cycle, the last stage ends at an average age of thirty-six years, which often manifests itself in the so-called “midlife crisis.” However, every major life change, for example, marriage or a change of job, launches a new cycle, which is superimposed on the calendar, and a person, as a rule, lives through several stages in different areas of life at the same time. Using this approach, it can be argued that the reason for frequent changes of work or relationships as a request for psychological elaboration may be hidden in the characteristics of the passage of these stages in childhood. In addition, the very nature of the request of clients turning to a psychologist can provide information about the stage of development that he is experiencing at the current time. [7, 8] To illustrate, let us cite the case of client L., a young woman of 27 years old, who asked for help to help make a decision regarding her relationship with her husband. She could not decide on her own whether she should continue the relationship or break up. An analysis of the stages of personality development, carried out during the initial interview and the first few counseling meetings, showed that the structure stage is relevant for the client. As a child, during this stage, she was forced to follow strictly established rules of behavior, which were dictated by a rather controlling and authoritarian mother. As a result, a number of prohibitions and contaminations were present in the client’s psyche [5, p. 196]. For decontamination, the following was done over 8 sessions: 1) “If you don’t know how to do something, then it’s better not to try it”: permission was given to try new actions, as a result of which I baked a cake for the first time in my life. Then Easter cakes, which reinforced the confidence that he could bake. 2) “A man should be able to do everything around the house”: they clarified that this was exactly what the client’s father was, but other men have the right to be different from their father. 3) “A woman should make decisions”: she remembered cases when her husband made decisions, not she, and “the world didn’t collapse.” 4) “I’m clumsy”: I couldn’t remember a single case from my adult life where this could be confirmed. She admitted that these were the words of her mother, which she believed. 5) “You need to control feelings”: she began to accumulate new experience in expressing feelings and was convinced that life did not deteriorate from this. Further, from the history, duration and nature of conflicts in relationships with her husband, it became clear that in this relationship the client is going through a thinking stage. The inability to make independent decisions, lack of awareness of one’s desires, and manifestations of negativism are all characteristic problems of this stage. In the course of working on these issues over the course of 10 sessions, an early childhood decision to restrain feelings was revealed [1, p. 42], the racket of helplessness was confronted [6], permission was given to think, act, and have fun. During the consultation, the client made an independent decision to live separately from her husband, and then made another decision to build a relationship with him on fundamentally new terms. Thus, the concept of cyclical stages of development allows in practice to quickly determine the points of “developmental arrest” of the client and necessary actions of a specialist. Literature: 1. Goulding M., Goulding R. Psychotherapy of a new solution. Theory and practice. -M.: “Class”, 1997. - 288 p.2. Mukhina V.S. Developmental psychology: phenomenology of development, childhood, adolescence: textbook for universities - M.: "Academy", 2002. - 456 p.3. Stewart J., Joines V. Fundamentals of TA: transactional analysis: Transl. from English – K.: FADA LTD, 2002. – 393 p.4. Steiner K. Scenarios of people's lives. Eric Berne School. – St. Petersburg: Peter, 2003. – 416 p.5. Shustov D.I. Clinical guidelines.9-15.