Drama Triangle

Karpman drew the triangle from transactional analysis in 1968

Karpman was working within transactional analysis, the approach founded by Eric Berne, when he published Fairy Tales and Script Drama Analysis. He noticed that stories, and real relationships, gain their drama from people moving between three positions.

The roles are positions people step into, not personality types:

• ✦Persecutor: blames, criticises or controls. "This is your fault."
• ✦Rescuer: steps in to fix things for others, often uninvited. "Leave it, I will sort it."
• ✦Victim: feels powerless and looks for someone to blame or to save them. "There is nothing I can do."

At work, the triangle keeps conflict going because the roles rotate

The drama comes from the switching. A Rescuer who is not thanked becomes a Persecutor. A Victim who is pushed too far turns on the Rescuer. Each move feels justified to the person making it, so the conflict never quite ends.

Leaders are often pulled into the Rescuer role, especially managers who were promoted for being good problem-solvers. Taking over a struggling colleague's work feels kind, but it signals that the colleague cannot cope and leaves the real issue untouched.

Example: two managers and a director who keeps rescuing

Imagine two department heads in a family-owned business who clash over deadlines. The sales head blames operations for late deliveries (Persecutor). The operations head says he is set up to fail (Victim). Their director smooths it over each time and quietly fixes the schedule herself (Rescuer). Six months later, both resent her, and the problem is unchanged.

When she steps out, she stops fixing, asks both managers what each of them will do differently and holds them to it. The guide on handling conflict between team members covers that conversation in detail.

The way out is to change the role, not the person

Many coaches use David Emerald's alternative, The Empowerment Dynamic, which reframes each role: the Victim becomes a Creator who chooses a response, the Persecutor becomes a Challenger who holds standards without blame, and the Rescuer becomes a Coach who asks rather than fixes.

One caution matters. The triangle describes patterns in ordinary conflict. It must never be used to dismiss someone experiencing genuine harassment or mistreatment as "playing the Victim". Those situations need proper HR and legal processes.