The object relations/systems model.

Abstract

The Object Relations/Systems Model he object relations/systems model is a psychoanalytic ap-T proach to inpatient group psychotherapy that was first proposed in the late 1970s and has been the object of increased interest over the past decade. This approach differs markedly from earlier analytic approaches to inpatient group psychotherapy in that the goals are highly specific, the intervention strategy well defined, and the recommended therapist posture highly active.A central tenet of the object relations/systems model is that the tenor of members' interactions with one another on the hospital unit and in the psychotherapy group are reflective of the organization of their internal lives. According to this model, because a person's intrapsychic organization determines the quality of his or her relationships, it is this organization that is the target of change. Unlike the majority of models presented in this text that aim to modify behavior, especially social behavior, this model seeks to modify how individuals perceive and experience themselves and other people.Group member residency on the psychiatric unit is more crucial to the workings of the object relations/systems model than it is to those of any of the other models described in this text. According to this model, the inpatient unit is a complex social organization with a vast array of features, any of which may impinge on the treatment taking place within it. Some features promote the patient's reconstitution, whereas others stimulate 177