Make abstract concepts tangible
2024
The RCT Toybox is a deck of 48 cards that define, illustrate, and connect 40 important concepts central to Relational-Cultural Theory RCT is a feminist take on psychology that acknowledges that humans grow through and toward relationships that are impacted by culture. Originally conceived by scholars at the International Center for Growth and Connection, the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute, and Wellesley’s Stone Center, these RCT concepts have evolved over the decades to describe the dynamics and impact of relationships.
Since these concepts can be difficult to understand, especially as terminology changed, I worked with the Bloomington Center for Connection to find a form that would both facilitate basic understanding and encourage exploration of how concepts might interact with each other. After some iteration. I landed on a hexagonal design for two-sided cards that would afford many ways to arrange concepts. Multiple card sorts were conducted to create some groupings that were named and added to each card, to allow people to use the deck in ways that already show how a given card is connected to others. Original art appears on the back that both interprets a concept and connects it visually to other cards with images in the same artistic style.
After launching in this form in 2022, the RCT Toybox deck underwent its first major revision, which included pruning some concepts, adding others, clarifying definitions, and altering the design to respond to feedback on the first version. The second edition of the deck was released in 2024 with new back art.
Resources
Card concepts were initially defined by looking at the key books published by the RCT community:
- Toward a New Psychology of Women (1976) Jean Baker Miller
- Women’s Growth in Connection (1991) Alexandra Kaplan, Irene P. Stiver, Judith V. Jordan, Janet Surrey, Jean Baker Miller
- The Healing Connection (1997) Jean Baker Miller and Irene Stiver
- Women’s Growth in Diversity (1997) edited by Judith V. Jordan
- The Complexity of Connection (2004) Judith Jordan, Linda Hartling, Maureen Walker
- How Connections Heal (2004) edited by Maureen Walker and Wendy Rosen
- The Power of Connection: Recent Developments in Relational Cultural Theory (2008) edited by Judith V. Jordan
- Relational Cultural Therapy 1st edition 2009, 2nd (Norton Theories of Psychotherapy Series) (2018) Judith V. Jordan
- Wired to Connect: The surprising link between brain science and strong healthy relationships (2016) Amy Banks
- Transforming Community (2017) Connie Gunderson, Dorothy Graff, Karen Craddock
- Connected Teaching (2019) Harriet Schwartz
- When Getting Along Is Not Enough: Reconstructing Race in our Lives and Relationships (2019) Maureen Walker