Relational Cultural Theory: The Case of Monica

Relational cultural theory (RCT) is a therapeutic framework rooted in the belief that growth occurs through connection in relationships, and that relational connection is inherently compromised in a society based on inequality among social groups (Miller, Toward a new psychology of women. Beacon Press, Boston, 1976/2012). Originally named self-in-relation theory in the mid-1970s, a group of feminist clinician-scholars collaboratively developed a clinical model to better understand and describe what they were experiencing in their practices and to formulate a model of women’s development where relational standpoint and connection are the markers of health.