Survival Games Personalities Play

People are most likely to engage in Survival-Game-Playing when they are stressed and finding it increasingly difficult to cope with life's challenges. Whether someone utilizes the game of Blackmail, Complain, Robot, or Masquerade, depends upon that person's personality, or temperament type. Each of these games represents a different way of protecting oneself in the face of life's adversities. Over time, as these protective behaviors escalate in frequency and intensity, they can become maladaptive and cause suffering for the individuals who are engaging in these behaviors and their family, friends, and coworkers. Using case examples from her practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist, Dr. Delunas describes the games associated with each of the four personality, or temperament types as described by Keirsey and Bates in the book, Please Understand Me--the Artisan (SP), Guardian (SJ), Rational (NT), and Idealist (NF). She explains the different reasons why each of the personalities is most likely to employ survival tactics. And, she identifies those methods that are often most effective in helping each of the four personality types to stop engaging in Survival Games at home and in the workplace.