Counseling and Wellness: A Professional Counseling Journal
36
2012 Volume 3
Harry Stack Sullivan’s Self-System
Rebekah Leimgruber-Lopez
Abstract
The following article includes Harry Stack Sullivan’s interpersonal theory and more specifically, his use of
the “self-system.” This theory is mainly built out of the social context of human experiences, however
congenital factors are not denied. The social element of human growth starts with a central state of
interpersonal affiliation in infancy and endures throughout adulthood. Interpersonal connections are the
significant requirements for standard human progression. Furthermore, destructive exhibitions can be
explained by deviance, psychopathology, and immaturity.
One individual who projected a model of the social component and interaction
between culture and personality development was Harry Stack Sullivan (1892-1949).
Born in Norwich, New York, he was schooled at Smyrna Union School and continued
his higher education at Cornell University. Before working as a psychiatrist, Sullivan
was a physician experienced in internal medicine and surgery. He earned his MD in
1917 from the Chicago College of Medicine and Surgery. Sullivan expanded upon
Sigmund Freud’s theories and drew his own attention towards interpersonal
relationships. He believed that the intrapsychic factor of personality could not be
perceived directly except through interpersonal connections. These exchanges can
take place in fantasy or reality. His emphasis on the importance of interpersonal
interactions and his claims that every person has as many personalities as he has
interpersonal associations seems to anticipate the diverse insights and differentiation of
social psychology (Muuss, 1996).
This theory is mainly built out of the social context of human experiences,
however congenital or organic factors of the brain are not denied. The social element of
Rebekah Leimgruber-Lopez is a student in the M. A. Counseling program at NAU-Yuma.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Rebekah Leimgruber-Lopez at
