Hildegard Peplau's Interpersonal Relations in Nursing Theory In the year 1952, Hildegard Peplau formulated a theory called Interpersonal Relations in Nursing Theory (Thompson 1986). Peplau formed his theory by building on the work of Harry S. Sullivan and making it relatable to the field of nursing (Thompson 1986). The theory focuses on four specific steps that develop in the relationship between nurse and patient (McGuinness & Peters 1999). These four phases are called: orientation, identification, exploitation and resolution (McGuinness & Peters 1999). Peplau believed that the relationship between nurse and patient was vital to achieving the patient's goals (McGuinness & Peters 1999). One of Peplau's main goals For many patients with mental health problems, the simple formation of a trusting relationship that evolves in the patient's progress as a shared experience makes a substantial difference (Merritt & Procter 2012). Peplau's theory states that there are four stages in this theory and that the nurse's role changes throughout the process (Merritt & Procter 2012). These roles are altered as a relationship forms, starting from the role of stranger to the role of clinical expert (Merritt & Procter 2012). During the stranger role, trust is built between the two individuals and, after working on the other four roles, the nurse can use their clinical skills to effectively guide the patient (Merritt & Procter 2012). By the end of these stages, the patient should be able to come to terms with their struggle and find ways to deal with it as an individual (Merritt & Procter 2012). In the field of mental health nursing this theory has proven to be extremely effective because it allows the patient to identify the problem and make sense of it in a safe and encouraging environment (Merritt & Procter). In this context, Peplau's theory helps to provide a structured plan of how to form a relationship and possibly give the patient the help he needs (Schafer 1999) writes about a case study conducted on a man named Dave who was in a correctional facility after going through a rough patch). as a child, going around foster care, seeing bad examples, and eventually joining a gang Schafer (1999) describes the feeling of power as something Dave truly enjoyed. During the orientation phase of Peplau's theory, Dave did not trust the nurse due to bad past experiences and expressed himself very aggressively in an attempt to gain control (Schaffer 1999). of trust for his nurse (Schaffer 1999). As they continued through the phases of Peplau, Dave improved, with some setbacks along the way (Schaffer 1999). When he reached the resolution phase, Dave set a goal of not reoffending while on parole, and unfortunately did not pursue this goal (Schaffer 1999). Although this situation did not end as the nurse would have hoped, Dave still made some improvements in his behavior (Schaffer 1999). Sometimes, especially in the case of prisoners, the