The adiabatic core polarization procedure of Christiansen is expanded to derive an REP-based relativistic core/valence correlation potential (RCVPP) operator. The operator is derived from data corresponding to individual energies, rather than total energies, within a j— j coupling scheme and is grounded in the relativistic effective potential approximation. The calculation from individual orbital energies in j— j coupling has the advantage of treating systems as eigenfunctions of the total angular momentum squared operator, thereby allowing each ljm component of the RCVPP operator to be calculated and its contribution to the total operator to be determined individually.