ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how reciprocal roles develop in response to early relationship experiences. The model began life as the Procedural Sequence Model (PSM) and later the Procedural Sequence Object Relations Model, which are essentially models of how we pursue our life aims but get lost in the process. The PSM can be represented as a simple diagram showing the sequence of a person’s aim-directed activity. A person can feel they are working hard to solve their difficulties; however, the way they go about this only seems to perpetuate the problem. The development of the PSM draws heavily on information-processing models and personal construct theory. These theories assume that people actively ‘construct’ their realities and interact with the self, world and others through a series of procedures, which in turn are constructed from a variety of thoughts, appraisals, aims, emotions and actions.
