Losers are Born Winners

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The Midwest Institute for Human Understanding was a “multidisciplinary TA training program” developed by psychotherapist Bill Holloway in 1972. TA stands for transactional analysis, which is a psychological theory put forth by Eric Berne that claims we can best understand ourselves by examining the transactions we have with other people. TA has its roots in Freudian psychoanalysis, with Berne asserting that there are three “ego states”—the Parent, Adult, and Child—which are shaped during childhood. Holloway founded his program after attending TA training sessions put together by Bob Goulding and joining the International Transactional Analysis Association. The Midwest Institute for Human Understanding was discontinued when Holloway moved from Ohio to California in 1977. Holloway later relocated to Brazil when U.S. popularity in TA began to wane.