Ian Stewart - Obituary by Mary Cox

With the death of Ian Stewart Ph.D TSTA(P) The TA world has lost one of its brightest stars. A world renowned and respected trainer and teacher, Ian was the author of five TA books, one of which, TA Today (co-authored with Vann Joines), has become a virtually standard TA text and has been translated into sixteen foreign languages including Arabic and Chinese. He led trainings and workshops across the globe and addressed numerous international conferences. At the same time for many years Ian was an active leader and invaluable member of the TA profession in the development and establishment of transactional analysis, working to set standards and regulate training procedures. He was a committed and regular TA examiner and served on numerous committees, often chairing them and setting the direction for their essential work. 

He was a leader in establishing TA as a respected and valued profession worldwide; but Ian did not start his teaching life with TA. He read Agriculture at Oxford University, then, after a brief period in Edinburgh, went to Nottingham University where he taught Agriculture, gained his PhD and went on to teach Economics. However this was not to prove his passion! He trained and qualified as a CTA continuing on to earn his TSTA(P). In 1994 he co-founded The Berne Institute with Adrienne Lee TSTA(P). Here he applied rigorous standards and his academic background to develop the training programme which contributed to The Berne's success. Later he cooperated with Middlesex University to give students the opportunity to gain the MSc in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy.

In 1998 he was awarded the EATA Gold Medal for "long standing and outstanding services for EATA and/or to TA or the TA community.." In addition to his illustrious career in Transactional Analysis, Ian was a recognised and highly appreciated player of folk music and a committed and enthusiastic Morris dancer. He was also an NLP Master Practitioner.

I met and became firm friends with Ian from the start of ITA (UKATA now) back in the mid 1970's. Both of us became heavily involved in the organisational development of transactional analysis through both local, regional and international TTA association work, and both of us were passionate about professional standards for examinations and training courses. All of this contributed to the recognition of Transactional Analysis by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and TA being finally recognised by some British universities ( and at about the same period, by various European Universitiesalso) for the award of an M.Sc.

Ian was a rather private person, even slightly reserved, kind of person at the same time as being sharp and humorous and perspicacious. He was a keen cyclist and took physical exercise very seriously. My husband, Ron, and I became firm friends with Ian and his wife Hicky, and we had annual cycling visits, not to mention serious beer tasting sessions.

Ian's last several years of life became increasingly blighted by Alzheimer's disease which almost certainly led to his death earlier than might otherwise have been expected. He leaves an unfillable gap in the world of Transactional Analysis and indeed in the wider world, touching many different lives in many different ways.

Mary Cox TSTA(P)