Relational-Cultural Theory

The Jean Baker Miller Training Institute (JBMTI), a legacy program of the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College, is the home of Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) which posits that people grow through and toward relationships throughout the lifespan, and that culture powerfully impacts relationship. JBMTI is dedicated to understanding the complexities of human connections as well as exploring the personal and social factors that can lead to chronic disconnection.

We promote social change by expanding definitions and societal norms of personal strength, human health, and cultural wellbeing. Our work, which focuses on relational development, has been applied in clinical settings, educational institutions, organizations, and businesses around the world, and has been recognized by a co-editor at the American Psychological Association as "one of the top ten psychological theories today."

RCT has grown from the early work of Jean Baker Miller, M.D., who wrote the best selling book Toward a New Psychology of Women in 1976. In this book, Dr. Miller explored the importance of dynamics of dominance and subordination in human relationships and began to reframe the psychology of women as a psychology centered in relationships. This work has been further developed since 1978 by a collaborative group including founding scholars Jean Baker Miller, M.D., Judith V. Jordan, Ph.D., Irene Stiver, Ph.D., and Janet Surrey, Ph.D. An expanded group of scholars, researchers, and clinicians have written many publications, including over ten books and more than one hundred Work in Progress papers, on specific areas of RCT. The work has been cited in over 6,000 books, journals articles, and dissertations.

Read more about the development of Relational-Cultural Theory.