May 15, 2018
REACTION PAPER
Theory: Harry Stack Sullivan’s Interpersonal Theory
Journal: “’Maybe it would’ve been better if you didn’t tell me you cared’: Attachment-Avoidance
and the Relational Encounter”
Source: Casado Perez, J.F. (2017). “Maybe it would’ve been better if you didn’t tell me you cared”:
Attachment-Avoidance and the Relational Encounter. The Practicumer Scholar: Journal
of Counseling and Professional Psychology, 6, 47-62.
The journal reviewed schizoid personality disorder (SPD) and existing literature on it.
Alongside with it, a humanistic-interpersonal approach called relational encounter was presented.
It was to conceptualize SPD not as a disorder but as a relational interpersonal style of attachment-
avoidance. In the article, we will also see that the author made use of a case illustration which
bridged literature of SPD with the knowledge on interpersonal and existential theories.
The basic tenet of Sullivan states that personality is shaped almost entirely by the
relationships we have with other people. If we look at the background of the client, Slate, in the
article, it was stated that he possesses a gifted IQ resulting to him being advanced in school. It
hindered him from making playmates of equal status which in Sullivan’s stages of development
is important in the Juvenile Era. During that stage, a person will also develop an orientation
towards living which readies a person for deeper interpersonal relationships to follow. We can see
that applying the Interpersonal Theory leads us readers to relate present events in Slate’s life to
past or childhood events.
A weakness Sullivan’s Interpersonal theory manifests is that it merely elaborates Freud’s
ego and defenses. If we look at the case presented in the article, we will see that they regarded
to Schizoid Personality Disorder more of a relational dysfunction rather than a symptomatic one.
This is in line with Sullivan’s conception of mental health issues which he said were evidences of
function or dysfunction in an individual’s social interactions. In Slate’s case, we can see that he
manifested the defenses rationalization and projection. He rationalized his condition on forming
relationships and projected unto others the thought of not wanting to make relationships or the
need for others to push harder or exert more effort to make friends.
If we look at the concept of dynamisms by Sullivan, we will see that Slate manifested more
of malevolence, which is the disjunctive dynamism of evil and hatred. And if focus on his self-
system, we can see that he protected himself from anxiety by refusing or holding back in forming
relationships with others which is also related to his defenses.
The aspects of interpretation stated above are missed out by the author as he stated that
he builds his research mainly on Sullivan’s Interpersonal theory. Applying Sullivan’s Interpersonal
theory on Schizoid Personality Disorder may be looked upon by other researchers. This is to be
considered most especially because some researchers/authors would say that it is more of a
relational problem. Adding to that is the low prevalence rate of SPD as well as the rise of
attachment-avoidance.
