On Relatedness
Searles saw the schizophrenic individual as struggling with the question, not so much of how to relate, but of whether to relate to others. Searles however considered this merely as an exacerbated version of the same (if hidden) conflict that affects us all.
Searles' interpersonal ideal - in the formulation of which he was indebted to Martin Buber - was of what he called a mature relatedness, something which involves connection without merging, or the loss of personal boundaries.
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