The Potency of Transactional Analysis within an Individual after Relational Integrative Mentoring

the we have provided an alternative Abstract and the previous paragraph to become part of the Introduction to this article Abstract The authors demonstrate through narrative analysis how potent lessons from TA are learned, applied and retained by those receiving relational integrative mentoring. A full account is provided of how transactional analysis is incorporated into such mentoring, including details of specific transactional analysis concepts and how they are used. Research results indicate how mentees particularly value transactional analysis as a language, as well as the usefulness of concepts including ego states, transactions, emotions, psychological games and contracts. The learning by the mentees is demonstrated as applicable to families as well as within the organisational context in which they mentoring was provided. They conclude that the research has demonstrated relational integrative mentoring as a sustainable and significant development programme.


Introduction
Being happy is directly related to the freedom to be able to make your own choices and follow the path that best fits your journey. Although it is difficult to face all the challenges that come with the decision for authenticity, this is a necessary choice for all those who want to live with more meaning.
Human development is a complex, multidimensional action that requires the availability of the people involved and the adoption of methods that can facilitate this journey. The core of the Relational Integrative Mentoring (MIR).path is based on the principle of active participation from the thinking and planning of all stakeholders. Our understanding is that the sharing of information and responsibilities brings the necessary fluidity to the common field of coexistence of development to stimulate updating changes. In this regard, transactional analysis (TA), as a language of understanding and communication, is aligned with the purpose of co-creation, facilitating access to the understanding of human phenomena and the incorporation of new patterns of behaviour and relationships by mentees.
[Editorial Note -we have opted to retain the Portuguese initials for Mentoria Integrativa Relacional rather than using RIM] The objective of this article is to demonstrate, through applied research, that the learning of the concepts of classical and contemporary TA remains in the memory and practice of people after the end of the development journey of MRI. The method used to obtain the analysed data was qualitative research, through narrative interviews. We confirm our hypothesis of the impact and potency of the TA language in the personal and professional systems, extended to the family and social systems of the mentees. We understand that this intervention, the MIR, combined with the concepts of TA, generated sustained changes that favoured the mentee's functional common fields of coexistence.
MIR is a humanistic developmental intervention that takes place during a co-created journey within the mentor and mentee's relational field, focusing on promoting the mentee's autonomy and facilitating their integrated functioning in personal, professional, family systems. and social. In the theoretical basis of MIR are the concepts of classical and contemporary TA and the development journey of each mentee is co-constructed and individualised within the needs of each one. The common point between all is the knowledge and the invitation to practice the TA concepts. The survey's respondents comprised a universe of 39 people, from five different large companies (under current Law 11,638/07 companies with total assets in the previous year greater than BRL 240 million or annual gross revenue greater than BRL 300 million are already considered large). The identified needs referred mainly to the professional and personal systems. At the time of data collection, respondents had completed the MIR in periods ranging from 1 to 3 years. Individual, structured interviews were conducted with open questions and lasted approximately 45 to 60 minutes each. Respondents signed an informed consent form and the qualitative data for use in this article were consolidated and analysed according to the emergence of the conceptual content of Transactional Analysis.
It is important at this point to report the general characteristics of the development journey. Most of those surveyed reached this development intervention through demand from companies and mentoring took place in a group or individually. The average duration of the journeys researched here was six months, the individual sessions lasted one hour and the group sessions four hours with the periodicity of fortnightly meetings.
The modelling of the development journeys was cocreated with the participation of mentees, mentors, managers and people management professionals. The modelling of the development journeys was cocreated with the participation of mentees, mentors, managers and people management professionals.
The first step of the development days was the construction of the contracted common field of coexistence (Silva, Teodora, Maestri, Silva, Almeida, Varela and Filho, 2020) with all those involved. It is important to emphasise the presence of the mentee in all stages of development planning, including the design of the initial scope of the journey.
We call a contracted common field of coexistence a functional relational field, in which the participating people make their respective frames of reference more flexible. Such flexibility allows the clarification of expectations, needs, aspects to maintain and develop, obstacles to neutralise. The contracted common field of coexistence generates in the relationship between the participants of the field the necessary fluidity during the development journey that can extend to the challenges of the various systems of life. To this end, there is a first contract and timely updates, in addition to the continuous nourishment of information, recognition, appreciation and validation among the people participating in the field.
For all systems (personal, professional, family and social) one of the relevant gains of the contracted common field of coexistence, which takes place through the explanation of intrapersonal realities, is to combat the harmful effects of symbiotic relationships. (Silva at al, 2020).
The initial expectations of development were made explicit at the time of construction of the common field of coexistence with all those involved and in that contracted between mentor and mentee.
The specification of development needs occurs simultaneously from the sharing of content, that is, the journey is co-created during its realisation.
We associate the various learning experiences that take place in a developmental spiral to a tree. The journey, like the tree, has its own time in each process: preparing the soil, sowing, creating and strengthening the roots, supporting the trunk, expanding the branches and leaves, fructification and the perpetuation of the tree through the production of seeds.
Along the mentorship development spiral, several trees are planted, connected by their roots thanks to continuous planting, sustaining, expanding, harvesting and multiplying. At the end of the journey, the mentee is guided to seek the necessary care to sustain and support their own development and that of the people around them, which can confirm that the sowing was successful. This is a process guided by kindness, the same kindness that a tree needs to receive in order to bloom and bear fruit.
In the development tree, soil represents the disposition for development, which is identified in the first contacts with the company and with the mentee or group of mentees. The first roots symbolise fundamental self-knowledge, as evolution starts with the unveiling of oneself, which allows decisionmaking for new patterns of behaviour and for the experimentation of new relationship strategies in different systems.
In parallel are the roots that, on the one hand, have the function of sustaining the development process and, on the other hand, obtaining the necessary nutrients for this purpose. Such nutrients can be symbolised by meeting relational needs (Moursund and Erskine, 2004), taking into account continuous, timely information and the 7 Ps: Permission, Protection, (Crossman, 1966), Potency (Steiner, 1968), Practice, Perception (Clarke, 1998), Persistence and Patience (Silva et al, 2020)] to sustain the development journey.
At the main root, which makes the connection between the base and the trunk of the tree, is the contracted common field of coexistence. This field, created at the time of the contract and maintained by the nutrition promoted by the roots was also the stage for expansions based on internalised knowledge, contained in the trunk and branches.
The trunk symbolises communication and the management of relationships that are decisive variables in sustaining the development journey and in the full transit of people through its various systems. Understanding these two phenomena, their origin, impacts and management possibilities, is the foundation for the developments in other areas of represented in the branches of the tree.
Our proposal is that the process is a seeding of development that generates roots and sustains the tree so that it generates seeds in the future. We understand a seed as a person who, strengthened by development, can guide and support the development of other people. Throughout the process, those who live with the mentees in their different systems and roles can be nourished by their development, just as a tree can offer the generosity of its shadow to welcome those who pass by. When the tree is strong enough to maintain itself, it is time for the mentor to leave the scene.

Details of the Development Journey
In the application of the MIR, the order of the contents indicates a hierarchical sequence that makes it possible to understand the more complex themes from the basic themes. (In this sense it is a taxonomy that classifies and orders people's learning and is a fundamental tool to establish learning goals and objectives). Based on this premise, we realised, in the context of the research, that people delved into more delicate topics as deeply as the intimate relationship with the mentor occurred and how much the self-knowledge provoked by the initial themes was assimilated.
We present the themes developed within a beehive and the choice of this symbol is not a mere chance. It is due to the interconnected combs, which in the case of MIR concerns the interconnection of the steps of the journey.
In the hive shown in Figure 1 are the themes that were part of the researched journey, often on a recurring basis and at different levels according to the need to deepen each one or the group. The MIR process throughout the sessions, which began with the construction of the common living fields, followed the flow shown in Figure 2.
After the construction of the common field of coexistence, the concepts of the contract were deepened, its application was exercised and stimulated with teams, partners, peers and hierarchical superiors. The result obtained at the time was the application by the mentees of the common fields of coexistence in their various systems with the establishment of constructive relationships. The concepts of TA used were contracts (Berne, 1966;Hay, 2007), contract requirements (Steiner, 1976), multiparty contracts (Hay, 1992), psychological distance (Micholt, 1992) and common field of contracted living (Silva et al., 2020).
Then, the concepts of the frame of reference, ego states (structural analysis, functional analysis), and generalised representations were applied, with a consequent deepening of: the understanding of human behaviour and its variables; perception of one's own behaviour; and the impacts on teams, pairs, partners and the consequent reactions. The concepts of TA used were frame of reference (Clarke, 1998;Schiff, Schiff and Schiff 1975), structural analysis, functional analysis (Berne, 1985) and generalised representations (Hine, 1997(Hine, , 2005. For those surveyed in management positions, the impacts on the cathexis of the ego states of the mentee in team processes were studied and deepened from the egogram of the effective manager (Villére, 1981). At this moment, a mapping of management competences and a management profile inventory were applied, analysis of which, associated with the knowledge of the theory of ego states, provided the mentees with the possibility of identifying aspects to be developed, which allowed the adjustment of the development path of the MRI. The clarification of the development steps was permanent, as this flexible track was continuously adjusted throughout the programme whenever necessary or appropriate. The concepts of TA used were egogram (Dusay, 1972(Dusay, , 1977 and egogram of the effective manager (Villére, 1981).
Subsequently, there was an understanding of the communication phenomenon and its impacts on the various systems, which made it possible for the mentees to perceive the importance of communication in relationships. This was done by analysing the transactions of the reports brought to the sessions. The use of Adult-Adult transactions during the sessions was an invitation for this same pattern of communication to be experienced in the various systems of the researched. The concept of TA used was transactions (Berne, 1985(Berne, , 1995Woollams and Brown, 1978).
The next step was understanding of the phenomenon of relational hungers, which includes motivation and its applications in different environments. The mentees experienced interventions that could strengthen the intrinsic and extrinsic factors of their own motivation and, when applicable, of their subordinates' motivation. It was possible to understand the link between professional performance and the general aspects of motivation and recognition. The importance of frequent monitoring and the provision of nutrition to the contracted common coexistence field was perceived. The mentees had the opportunity to understand the impact of the stroke filter on receiving and providing recognition and to rehearse emotionally polite dialogues and then translate them into their various systems. From the application report, the practice was progressively refined with the emotional education techniques created by Claude Steiner. The TA themes used were hungers (Berne, 1988;Steiner, 1976Steiner, , 2013English, 1972), relational needs (Moursund and Erskine, 2004), strokes (Steiner, 1976 and2013), stroke filter (Woollams and Brown , 1978) and emotional education (Steiner, 2013).
The next theme, time, which is recurrent in organisational environments, was explored through two variables, time structuring and time management. This allowed the mentees, in addition to knowledge of the two phenomena, to choose and adopt appropriate and healthy time management practices. The combination of time structuring, stroking and time management provided the opportunity to raise awareness among those surveyed and some had the opportunity to change their routine in the short term. The concepts of TA used were time structuring (Berne, 1985) and strokes (Cornell, de Graaf, Newton and Thunnissen, 2016).
Psychological games were presented as a way of understanding toxic relationships and emerging conflicts. It provided the adequacy of conflict management after understanding their impact on collective performance. We emphasised that the dramatic triangle and its roles supported the understanding of the games, as well as the understanding of the game plan facilitated the understanding of strategies for their exit. It was an important moment in the journey of both awareness and the perception of the need to re-visit, review and re-work the bases of worn-out relationships. The TA concepts used were psychological games (Berne, 1988(Berne, , 1995James, 1973;Stuthridge and Sills, 2016;English, 1977;Jongeward, 1978;Hine, 1990), game plan (James, 1973) and drama triangle. and compassion triangle (Karpman, 1971(Karpman, , 2014. At this point in the journey, the mentees were ready to understand the functions of emotions and experience the regulation of emotional aspects in relationships, which was done using the emotional education method added to emotional agility guidelines (David, 2018). The concepts of TA used were emotions (Berne, 1988), racket system (Erskine and Zalcman, 1979) and emotional education (Steiner, 2013).
When the mentees reached this stage of the journey, the awareness about themselves and the relationships was reasonably consolidated, which allowed a degree of deepening with the understanding of discounting and symbiosis. These contents were very relevant for understanding the systems of responsibility in the different areas of the mentee's life and once again there was an opportunity to nurture or review the various common fields of coexistence. The concepts of TA used were discounting (Schiff and Schiff, 1971;Macefield and Mellor, 2006), symbiosis (Schiff and Schiff, 1971) and organisational symbiosis (Schmid and Messmer, 2005).
We believe it is important to register the use of the discount matrix as a relevant instrument for this part of the journey, as it allows the identification and qualification of resources and responsibilities for the change. Its dialogic application was made using guiding questions adapted from Mellor and Macefield (2006).
In yet another level of depth, the mentees were introduced to the negative miniscript behaviours (drivers) and their respective impacts on relationships, management, the development of subordinates and other processes. The concept of TA used was miniscript (Kahler and Capers, 1974).
The end of the journey was based on the phenomenon of change, its relationship with human development, the understanding of the driving and stopping forces in relation to the change processes of the teams and the organisation. The challenge of this last stage was to consolidate the individual changes and manage them in oneself. In some situations, and the changes to be consolidated were related to the functioning of the team. The concepts of TA used were competency curve (Hay, 2009), development cycle (Levin, 1982 and contracts for change (Goulding and Goulding, 1985).

About the research methodology
The research carried out can be categorised as descriptive, as it aimed to describe the characteristics of a given population or phenomenon and to establish relationships between variables of a given phenomenon.
As for the technical procedures, it is a case study, as it involved a deep study of few objects in a way that allowed a broad and detailed knowledge. As for intention, this was an applied research that aimed to generate knowledge for practical application. As for the approach, it was a qualitative research, as it considered that there is a dynamic relationship between the real world and the subject;, that is, an inseparable link between the objective world and the subject's subjectivity that cannot be translated into numbers. The interpretation of phenomena and the attribution of meanings are basic in the qualitative research process. The natural environment was the direct source for data collection and the researcher was the key instrument. The tool used for data collection was the narrative interview.
Narrative interviews (Muylaert, 2014) have the characteristic of being collaborative, as the story emerges from the interaction, exchange, dialogue between interviewer and participants. The respondent tells about their experience, and in this process they have the opportunity to get in touch with questions that have not yet emerged. This narrative process can mobilise emotion in the interviewees, since it is sensitising and allows the co-construction of the report from the experience of the mentee and the interviewer.
We observed that the narrative interview, added to the fundamental characteristics of the MIR Mentor role, allowed aspects experienced during the mentoring journey to be accessed from the perspective of the present and the application of knowledge over one to three years after the journey.
Of the fourteen questions in the research instrument, one specifically referred to the experimentation of new concepts and behaviours related to TA. Our purpose was to understand how and to what extent the concepts remained in the thinking and practice of the researched group. By including the stimulus in the research dialogue: "What was it like for you to experience the new concepts and behaviours developed during the mentoring (transactional analysis)?" we understood that we could identify after the process was closed what actually remained and/or continued to be applied.

Results
75 people received and accepted the invitation to participate in the research. Of these, 65.3% confirmed their participation, enabling scheduling, and 39 were actually interviewed, which is equivalent to 52% of the initial sample. Of the total number of respondents, 43.6% were female, 56.4% male and 94.9% were team managers. As for the mentoring process, 51.3% performed individually, 28.2% in a group and 20.5% participated in a group followed by individual sessions. None of the interviewees knew about TA until the beginning of the mentoring process.
Analysing the interviewees' reports, we quantified the emergence of themes in order to identify the most recurrent ones and with evidence of impact on the memory and practice of each one. In Figure 3 and Table 1, we present the results. Below we describe the themes and provide transcribed extracts which show the use of the analysed concepts by the interviewees.

TA as Language
Of the total number of mentored respondents, 66.7% adopted at the time and had continued to use TA as a basic language in relationships and/or management practices, which mainly meant selfperception, perception of the other, identification of the game situation, adoption of a communication attuned and calibration of emotions. Regarding the topics mentioned, the use of TA as language represents 29%.
"(...) it is not just another way of thinking, it is a simple way of doing things that produces the result (...)" "The foundation is very solid that presents transactional analysis and then you test and put it into practice." "I think the experience of understanding something like this depends a lot on you putting it into practice and trying to look at it from the perspective of transactional analysis." "(...) after the concept, you start to really put it into practice and visualise it in a very clear way." "It's cool when you start to dot the i's and understand that there was a process of cause and effect, that something happened and caused this, that it came from here, it went there. So, even from the point of view of the most logical engineer, it's nice to understand that there is indeed a logical process that ends up triggering people's emotions, feelings or actions." "Concepts seem so clear once you learn that you can't live without them anymore."  "It is a constant training, an evolution that occurs between ups and downs because I believe that the consolidation of a new behaviour in another level is a difficult and constant task. The great advantage of this learning is the reading of scenarios where it is very easy for me to situate myself in relation to established relational structures." "Let's go back to the Adult ego state: it's a language embedded in company communication."

Ego States
For 66.7% of the interviewees, the concept of ego states is present in the report and is considered by the interviewees to be the most impacting concept that underlies the perceptions of themselves and the other and made possible the adequacy of behaviour.
Regarding the topics mentioned, the concept of ego states represents 29%.
"Then I started to really understand the concepts of transactional analysis, the ego states and realise myself, to the point that I still do this today, of being in some situation and looking inside and realising how I am at that moment." "And that's how it is, it's not being a child, it's being in the ego state. it is understanding that there is a way of behaviour there, of relating to what comes and that generates an attitude." "I would say it was liberating, it's like taking down a curtain, because you see, but your vision is blurred, and when you start to realise that you have access to these concepts, you start to realise that it makes sense and that it works. You take it off, you see things more clearly. You will understand yourself and other people more clearly, this will help you in a way to work with these people, both professionally and family. It makes you lighter, things flow more smoothly, not so much in that pressure, in that agony, things get better, more palatable, calmer and lighter." "Realise which ego state is prevailing at that moment and return as quickly as possible to the Adult, to the here and now." "Knowing that our behaviour in the face of different day-to-day situations can be analysed and that this analysis serves to guide us and seek better results with which we are involved." "You can get out of that condition you got into, go back to your Adult ego state and better analyse the options you have at that moment, that's the main teaching."

Psychological Games
For 41%, the concepts of psychological games and the drama triangle were incorporated as a line of thought for identifying and neutralising toxic relationships and minimizing conflicts. Regarding the topics mentioned, the concepts of psychological games and drama triangle represent 18%.
"I was able to conduct a conversation that normally I would go into that bait, go into her game, and professionally speaking, it was a professional account." "The memories come in your head and it starts to fall into place. 'Of course that was a game', for example. 'Of course that person acted like that' or selfsabotage." "Someone throws a bait and the other person accepts and conflicts start." "How do I see myself, how do people see me, victimisation, all of that. I thought it was really cool to have a triangle of characters. Now I remembered the characters from the drama triangle, where is the Victim and where are you in one of the roles in this triangle (...) It was cool and that was some of the things I liked the most." "One of the very common things that we did, and that you perhaps didn't have the concept of, was the question of the Victim, Persecutor and Rescuer. What role are you in at that moment in your relationship, in that triangle. So, with that, with this learning, you left there and 'Wow! Today you were Persecutor or not. We weren't constructive.' This is a cycle, but with the concept, you can not only get to know, but with day-to-day practice, improve the issue of empathy. You start to improve the relationship and that will be the organisational climate." "She talked a lot about psychological games for us to take care of the bait. One thing she told me, which impressed me a lot, is that usually great tragedies happen in psychological games. You end up throwing the bait until, at one point, there is a great tragedy, which is to take something for you that is not yours."

Contracts
Although contracts permeate the statements of all respondents, 17.9% explicitly highlighted this concept and application in their comments.
Regarding the topics mentioned, the concept of contracts represents 8%.
"The contract issue made a lot of sense. Today, people from the team come to me and say, let's make a new contract. This is a term that has been etched in our memory." "The contract is more constant on a day-to-day basis." "When we talk about strategic things, the contract issue comes along with that."

Emotions/Emotional Education
The importance of identifying emotions and communicating through emotionally polite standards was emphasised by 12.8% of respondents. In relation to the topics mentioned, this concept represents 5%.
"It was like rescuing me, like I was calm and all of a sudden I got nervous or broke. Don't respond in emotion so you don't lose your reason and then if you get nervous, breathe, take it easy, have a water, take a walk and then you answer. I don't answer that I'm nervous, because I can't. Because I wasn't calm, I couldn't and I gave a bad answer and sometimes I didn't want to say it aggressively, but I couldn't and I gave bad answers because of my nervousness and then I lost my reason."

Transactions
The topic transactions was mentioned by 10.3% of the interviewees as a strategy to identify the ego states and the quality of communication, which represents 4% in relation to the topics raised.
"We managed to put the situation on that map with the little arrow and how it happened. That, to me, made more sense than ever. If I looked at that map, at some other time, without this example, it would perhaps be something more informative and technical for learning, but when we put the practical situation on it, it made perfect sense.

Other Themes
The other themes, mentioned explicitly by less than 10% of the participants, were Frame of Reference, Recognition, Autonomy and Symbiosis.

Discussion
The development process through MIR is particular and refers to a particular individual or group. There is no continuous programme of predictable application, although the concepts of TA are amalgamated throughout the entire journey. Being essentially cocreated, MIR is designed by the mentor and the mentee (or group of mentees) at each step of advancement. The contract, which transverses the entire process, was practiced organically in mentoring and systematically expanded in mentee relationships. As a concept, it was less present in the analysis of the reports and its evidence was indirectly in the correlation with the other concepts. That said, we were able to extract from the reports of the mentees participating in the research that some concepts of TA, especially its language, marked the observation of the presence of behavioural changes in the short term that were sustained even after the end of the process.
The knowledge of the ego states, the creation of the egogram and the diagnosis of the location of cathexis through one's own behaviour and that of others, carried out with attention to transactions, generated an immediate impact in the session itself and between one session and another, verified in the process of communication with team and peers.
The psychological games and the roles of the drama triangle changed the way of understanding and managing the emergence of conflicts, both in the already installed conflict and in those that had not yet manifested.
Analysing the reports, we were able to understand that even after a relatively long period of time had elapsed between the last session and the research, the mentees identified the impact and importance of the development intervention as well as the relevant changes in the relationship with themselves and in the relationships in their systems (personal, professional, family and social). TA was remembered, not through the consistent rigor of its concepts but by its concrete application.
This was evidenced by the mentees when identifying in themselves, in their histories and in their relationships; there were aspects of TA theory in the exercise of observation, diagnosis and practice of new behaviours from each mentee. It seems to us that the continued experimentation of updating the frame of reference, allowed by the understanding of the concepts, remained for this time in the thinking and action of the researched. We noticed evidence of the importance of decoding phenomena to understand the different impacts of what was hidden behind the scenes of behaviour. Understanding the stimuli, the responses, the roles in the games, the effects of transactions and the concrete possibility of changing the cathexis between the ego states, gave the mentees clues that made it possible to update the generalised representations installed (Hine, 1997) and to experiment and update behaviours in response to different stimuli.
All respondents, at some point in their interview, expressed how much the method and behaviour of the relational integrative mentor made it possible to approach heavy, difficult and painful topics in a light way. We understand that this was also possible due to the fact that the MIR methodology is anchored in contact and alignment (Moursund and Erskine, 2004) of mentor-mentored, bringing to the development a warm aspect of meeting relational needs (Moursund and Erskine, 2004) and in the modelling of a relationship of mutual respect that could be replicated by the client in their systems.
Therefore, it seems to us that trying out new behaviours in a protected, safe environment or with people with whom there are conditions of intimacy, helps the mentee to improve the behaviour, acquire experience and consequently more self-confidence to try them in threatening environments or difficult relationships.
Another aspect that was identified is that knowing the concepts of TA allowed the mentee to understand the impacts of their actions and behaviours on their different relationships and from this awareness to deliberately make choices, no longer being hostage to circumstances but protagonists in their own history.
All the mentees heard by the research came to the development journey with the objective of working on behaviours and impacts on the professional system and, consequently, on the personal system. It was important for us to realise that the reports of all of them indicate the spill over of learning also to their other systems, especially the family. The observation of behavioural changes in the relationship with children, parents and life partners was a powerful reinforcer of the change in behaviour in the professional system, generating a process of feedback of development.
As presented above, 100% of those surveyed first accessed the concepts of TA in the mentoring journey; the same proportion, all of them, started to use TA as a useful language in the organisational environment. It was also observed that within the companies in which the top leadership also participated in the mentoring journey, this language extended throughout the organisation and remains present in the established relationships to this day.
An interesting observation is that the duration of mentoring does not seem to have been an impacting variable, or at least as impactful as access to the theory of TA, since the reports are similar. The changes were noticeable immediately after being in contact with the TA concepts. By contact, we imply that someone understands the concept, understands the phenomenon in their daily life, understands the impact, tries new ways to respond in a safe environment, polishes these responses and finally consolidates them in other relationships.
Another aspect that caught our attention when studying the reports is that as the mentees acquired new knowledge, they made individual moves in the search to meet the desire to know more. This wish still persists, as in the interviews many of them recorded that the MIR process should have a longer duration or be resumed from time to time.
It is important to emphasise that learning on the MIR journey was possible because the mentees effectively engaged in the action of knowing, living, experiencing and getting in touch with the effects of their behaviours. With that, we can also say that the success of the development journey was directly proportional to how much the mentee was willing to get in touch with deep aspects of their behaviours, with their strengths and vulnerabilities, in addition to the willingness to try new possibilities.

Conclusion
MIR's structure and method, aligned with the concepts of TA, were decisive in the acquisition, experimentation, consolidation and 'sedimentation' of adequate and healthy behaviours in organisational coexistence.
Carrying out a diagnosis with the participation of all those involved in the programme, as well as the alignment with the identified needs, in addition to the construction of a common field of organic coexistence (flexible and updated at each contact) allowed the frame of reference of each mentee to be considered and respected, which reduced the natural resistances in developments of this nature.
The journey of each mentee towards autonomy followed the flow proposed by Berne (1995): awareness, spontaneity and intimacy, plus the integrity proposed by Mellor (2008). Considering awareness as the perception of oneself, of the other, of the impact of one's own behaviour on others and of the behaviour of others on one's own trajectory; spontaneity as the ability to express obtained through connection with one's own vital energy; intimacy through the discovery of the possibility of relationships where there is sharing of relational fields free of games, the possibility of safe expression of deliberate love and release of symbiosis; and finally, integrity, which is the possibility of perceiving ourselves in totality as belonging to the different systems.
In the context of this research, we could understand that it is fundamental for the development journey to have permission, protection, (Crossman, 1966), potency (Steiner, 1968), practice, perception (Clarke, 1998), persistence and patience (Silva et al, 2020). It was up to the mentor to believe and explain their belief in the mentee's potency, ensure the necessary protection in the mentoring environment so that the mentee could deal with the aspects of change, create an environment for the mentee themself to exercise the permission to open up to new behaviours and let go of the dysfunctional ones. The mentor's keen perception allowed the mentee to be perceived and their developmental steps, stimulating moments of practice so that the mentee could experience new ways of responding to stimuli. Patience was exercised in order to respect the client's time throughout the journey and, finally, persistence so that neither of them gave up on the journey or the desired change, recognising and nurturing perceived advances at all times.
We understand that the research showed that the development provided by MIR within the common field of coexistence contracted between mentor and mentees is rich and in constant development. We attribute to the classical and contemporary concepts of TA the foundation for the creation of a common language for understanding and decoding phenomena, needs, expectations and behaviours.
Each development journey was an opportunity to enrich the next stage. The active participation of mentees in their own journey made room for the development of peers and those who came after. MIR's development intervention anchored in the concepts of TA can support the development of people in any of its systems.
MRI, from the mentor's point of view, allowed the mentees the autonomy possible within the context of each of each of them, as the awareness of oneself was expanded, the relationships had the opportunity to change towards intimacy and the permissions were exercised in order to provide spontaneity.
Finally, the research demonstrated that MIR is a sustainable development programme whose impacts transcend the process itself. Thus, the power of TA was identified through the maintenance of the remembrance and practice of its concepts by the mentees. Relational Integrative Mentoring is relational integrative mentoring because it is based on transactional analysis.