Originally published in 1952 by a towering figure in nursing history, this book stresses the then novel theory of interpersonal relations as it was relevant to the work of nurses. Her framework suggested that interaction phenomena that occur during patient-nurse relationships have qualitative impact on patient outcomes. While the past four decades have seen a substantial expansion in the use and understanding of interpersonal theory, such as cognitive development and general systems theory, this classic book remains a useful foundation for all nurses as so much subsequent work used this work as its starting point.