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Don't let drama triangles take over your health care organization; see how to prevent them from emerging.
THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE IS A HELPING profession. Physicians help and support their patients through their professional knowledge and expertise, and physician leaders help their colleagues through their teaching, mentoring and coaching activities. All helpers - and physicians are no exception - must be aware of falling prey to the dreaded drama triangle.
I n the late 1960s psychiatrist Stephen Karman described what he called the drama triangle. The triangle represents a dysfunctional personal relationship and illustrates three roles that an individual can play in that relationship: victim, rescuer and persecutor. The roles are not the people themselves, but parts to be played in the drama that occurs as the relationship unfolds.
A central role in this drama is that of the victim. The victim feels incapable and powerless. A victim believes that other people or events are acting upon him and there is nothing that he can do about it. Victims often feel mistreated, disadvantaged and sorry for themselves. They take no responsibility for their situation. To the extent a person remains in the victim role, it blocks him from analyzing the problem, making decisions and taking action to improve his situation.
In a previous article for Coach's Corner, "Coaching from an Adult Ego State," we presented the idea of ego states - the frames of mind out of which a person may interact with others. Three such ego states were discussed: adult, parent and child. The victim role stems from a negative manifestation of the child ego state, specifically that of a helpless child.
Every victim requires a persecutor - something or someone that can be blamed for the victim's situation. A persecutor isn't necessarily always a person; it may be a condition or circumstance the victim perceives as the cause of his woes.
No doubt that life sometimes isn't fair and that people can become victims of circumstances. However, in the drama triangle we are not talking about a genuine cause-and-effect relationship, such as an adverse event or condition beyond the person's control. Instead, it is the perception that someone or something...