Exploring The Drama Triangle

The Drama Triangle

The Drama Triangle was first developed in the 1960s by Stephen Karpman M.D., a member of Eric Berne’s Tuesday night seminar, the original Transactional Analysis study group. It is used to model a pattern of behaviour that illustrates a power game involving three roles: Victim, Rescuer, and Persecutor, each role representing a common and ineffective response to conflict.

The Three Positions Explained

Victims can often feel trapped, helpless and hopeless. They are frequently unwilling to take responsibility for their undesirable circumstances and don’t think they have the power to change their lives. Victims assume themselves to be powerless and place blame on Persecutors (can be other people or a particular situation). They look for Rescuers to solve the problem for them. If the Victims continue to stay in this stance, it will prevent them from making decisions, solving problems, changing the current state, or sensing any satisfaction or achievement.

Rescuers constantly feel pulled to intervene on behalf of the Victims and try to save Victims from perceived harm. They feel guilty when standing by. Rescuers may have all the good intention and strive to ‘help’ other people as they see necessary. They fail to realise that by offering short-term fixes to Victims, they keep Victims dependent and neglect their own needs. This is why Rescuers often find themselves pressured, tired, and may not have time to finish their own tasks, as they are busy fire-fighting for the Victims.

Persecutors are like ‘Critical Parents’ who are strict and firm and set boundaries. They tend to think that they must win at any cost. They can blame the Victims and criticize the behaviour of Rescuers, without providing appropriate guidance, assistance or a solution to the problem. They are critical and good at finding fault, and control with order and rigidity. They keep the Victims oppressed and sometimes can be seen as a bully.

What Are you, a Victim, Rescuer, or Persecutor?

People are not per se rescuer, persecutors or victims. They only behave as such in certain situations. In doing so, they tend to mask out one or more aspects of reality and devalue them. At the same time, they avoid having to question their relationship concept and their basic beliefs. A behaviour within the drama triangle creates drama in relationships. This means that, ultimately, all those involved will at be left feeling bad.

The Winner’s Triangle

The alternative to living within the Drama Triangle is to bring this to awareness and move into the Winner’s Triangle which helps us intergrate behaviour from Adult ego state. In this way we move from:

Victim to Voicing our Feelings (or Vulnerable) – asking honestly for what we need instead of hoping someone else will tell us

Rescuer to Resourceful (or Caring) – supporting others instead of doing it for them

Persecutor to Potent (or Assertive) – making it clear what needs to happen, without blame, aggression or punishment; defining boundaries and believing that everyone’s needs are important