RCT was developed in Wellesley, Massachusetts in the 1970s through the work of psychiatrist, Jean Baker Miller (Toward a New Psychology of Women), psychologists, Judith V. Jordan, Janet Surrey, and Irene Stiver at the Stone Center at Wellesley College in reaction to psychodynamic theory.
The Stone Center at Wellesley College and the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute are the hubs of RCT research and training and are perhaps best known for their Working Papers series, collective works that are continuously considered for review and reconsideration.
As RCT was founded in strong feminist principles, and was started at Wellesley College, the movement's traditional focus was on women and their relational experiences.
A nonexhaustive list of these include: counselors, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists.
That is, relationships are both the indicators for, and the healing mechanism in psychotherapy toward, mental health and wellness.