Peplau published her model in 1952, entitled Interpersonal Relations in Nursing. She formulated this model by expanding on the works of Freud, Fromm, Malsow, Sullivan, and Miller. The model describes the individual as a system, which comprises of physiological, psychological and social components.
The model views nursing in two ways. Firstly, nursing is educative. Secondly, nursing is therapeutic. Combined, these two fuctions allow nurses and clients to develop critical thinking skills.
The model still holds relevant for nurses today. For the profession of nursing has incorporated the concepts found within the model. Currently, students in nursing programs are being taught health promotion and disease prevention, in addition to caring for acute, chronic and palliative clients.

General Information:

Based her model on psychodynamic nursing, which applies prinicples of human experience, that she defines as using an understanding of one's own behavior to help other identify their difficulties.
Phases of nurse-pateint relationship reflects occurences in personal interactions.
Phases are examined separately but overlap and occur over time.
Phases are divided into orientation, identification, exploitation, and resolution.
Nurse assumes different roles in each phase, such as a teacher, resource, counselor, leader, technical expert, and surrogate. (Coffin, 1998)

Major Concepts Defined in Peplau's Model

Person ~ Striving towards equilibrium in an unstable environment; a self-system in physiological, psychological, and social fluidity
Health ~ Forward movement of the personality
Illness ~ Symptoms from axiety-bound energy
Environment ~ Fluid context of the nurse-client relationship
Nursing ~ Therapeutic interpersonal process carried out through the relationship between the person and the nurse

Leddy,S. & Pepper, J.M. (1998). Nursing models and theories. Conceptual Bases
of Professional Nursing, 4th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 184-186.