Karpman's Drama Triangle: Victim, Persecutor and Savior

 Dear Readers,

Today I present to you another life coaching article: The Karpman Triangle. A difficult and very useful topic to reduce or avoid conflicts in human relationships; because it is deeply human to strive for harmony and avoid conflict.  The purpose is always the same for each life coaching article: an inner transformation through introspection and empowerment on the progress of one's life.

Only a path of internal transformation allows us to raise our judgement, our awareness and our responsibility  for the progress of our lives.

The Karpman triangle (also known as: Karpman drama triangle) is a social pattern concerning destructive dynamics of human interaction, involving three symbolic, iconological figures:

• Victim.
• Persecutor.
• Savior.

Interpersonal problems arise automatically and many of them are caused by dramatic roles indicated in the Karpman triangle, which we assume unconsciously. We are not these roles, we play them and we can also change them during a relationship or play different roles for different relationships.

They are three characters  in deep conflict with each other, but which, precisely because of this conflict, are closely related.

The Karpman triangle, which falls within the scope of Transactional Analysis, is based on the presence of destructive relationships between individuals who do not possess the ability to deal with others in a balanced way, and who therefore assume destructive attitudes.

The three fundamental roles are those assumed by the inner "self" in the presence of conflicting and neurotic situations, responsible for deviant forms of communication.

Stephen Karpman, the American psychotherapist who elaborated this theory in 1968, expressed the belief that this behavioral model could be of help in numerous cases of profound psychological distress, not only individual, but also collective and applied it to map most of the conflicting relationships, focusing on the power that arises from the clear distinction of the roles played.

For our personal life coaching work we will no longer go into the specific studies of the American psychotherapist, but we will briefly analyze the three figures and take a look at how to get out of this dramatic triangle of destructive relationships.

As can be seen from the figure we end up with an inverted triangle where the victim is located at the lower vertex (V), the persecutor (P) at the upper left vertex and the savior (S) at the upper right vertex. As we said previously, these three roles can undergo changes during the same relationship with dynamic position exchanges (Role), however the exchanges between roles are not able to resolve the conflict that underlies the triangle, but only allow the position of the protagonists to be changed, who are still trapped in the basic scheme.

The vertices of the triangle according to Karpman

Victim: The main characteristic of the victim is his passivity, in fact he accepts both the harassment of the persecutor and the help of the rescuer. He does nothing to change the situation and in doing so satisfies his need for dependency, managing to avoid taking any responsibility.

In most cases the victim is not really a victim, not a person incapable of making decisions but rather an individual who acts as if he were, appearing to be unlucky, dogged by bad luck, hopeless and always accused. A weakling only in appearance, who finds a way out of obligations and commitments by taking refuge in the role of the persecuted, as a utilitarian attitude in favor of him.

Persecutor: he is a subject animated by the need to control everything and everyone, driven to judge anyone, and in particular the victim, who becomes his favorite scapegoat. It is a very self-confident person, capable of translating this apparent security of his into a continuous judgmental and critical analysis towards his neighbor, always considered not up to the situation but in reality the persecutors are often insecure individuals, oppressed by a strong conflict, who try to overcome their problems by coddling the victim, who becomes the center of their existence. Ultimately an unhealthy dependence is created with the victim, who becomes indispensable to the Persecutor.

Savior: is a person who is constantly seeking the approval of others, who always wants to feel morally superior to others. An unresolved character who is unable to accept his limitations and who tries to forget his problems by dedicating himself to others. He is generally a very frustrated individual who concentrates especially on the rescue works of the victim who in turn shows that he appreciates his attentions. Consequently the rescuer feels accomplished and in a certain sense the savior validates and accepts the work of the persecutor, without whom he could not show himself as a rescuer and therefore as a good person deserving of esteem and appreciation.  

 Get out of the triangle

As already mentioned in the Karpman triangle roles are not fixed, but on the contrary the exchanges between roles have a certain frequency, in relation to changes in interpersonal relationships.

This role reversal exacerbates the degree of drama and confusion, as the same character can play opposite roles in short periods of time. Consequently we have the total loss of control with an increase in aggression, which exacerbates  the negative spiral exponentially.

Therefore it is necessary to resolve this condition as quickly as possible, to avoid both immediate and above all long-term consequences, connected to the chronicity of dysfunctional dynamics.

The first step to take is aimed at the individual characters: use introspection creatively to acquire or develop skills and responsibilities useful for getting out of one's role.

Getting out of the victim role

Like the whole concept of life coaching, the victim must take responsibility to grow, must acquire self-esteem and self-confidence to develop their autonomy. By identifying your dark sides and exploiting them as strengths by eliminating the excuse of not acting because of her presumed vulnerability.

Get out of the role of persecutor

Only a path of inner transformation allows us to raise our judgement, our awareness and our responsibility for the progress of our lives.

By becoming aware of his limitations and insecurities, the persecutor must become more assertive and stop judging others. To get out of this role the character must recognize and accept his weaknesses by doing so he reduces his accusing vision becoming more humane and altruistic.

Exit the role of Savior

The savior must accept his personality without hiding behind an artificial and often false altruism, wearing a hypocritical mask that tries to bind people to himself due to his need to fulfill himself, leaving people free to choose whether or not to establish a relationship with him without a dependency or rescue relationship. Showing sincerity and facing his insecurities and unresolved conflicts that condition him.

Conclusion: as has now been highlighted during all these life coaching articles, working on yourself is based on  honest Introspection, finding dark corners and strengths, accepting them and using them in order to improve yourself and consequently the relationships you maintain. Obviously the first step is the will to change, to recognize that the path taken so far no longer works and to seek a solution. If you can't do it alone, you need to ask for help from experts in the sector.

With the hope that this article may be helpful, I ask you to leave the mark of your passage with your comments.