Founded by Harville Hendrix, Ph. D., Imago theory subscribes to the belief that, in Western cultures, we unconsciously bring out unfinished business from childhood needs on our partners; and because both partners have the same agenda, relationship conflicts generally result. Because our wounding occurred in our early relationships with the people who raised us, our healing must also occur in the context of a relationship.
Imago Relationship Therapists are trained to assist couples in gaining access to the central unconscious motivations they bring to their relationships for resolution. When these hidden hopes, fears and longings are no longer hidden and can be communicated in the structured atmosphere of safety provided by the therapists, partners begin to see one another differently, experience greater empathy towards one another and actively take steps to create a new experience of relationship. Imago Relationship Therapists help couple delve into the core problem or issue in the relationship - the relationship impasse. It is usually this impasse - that seemingly "unmovable object" - that brings troubled couples into therapy in the first place. In the course of therapy, just by working the process, impasses dissolve. It is in this process, too, that couples agree to take on a new purpose for being together - a mutual attempt to complete childhood and commit to becoming one another's healer in the context of a conscious relationship. In most troubled relationships, problems continue to escalate because one or both partners have exhausted their resources and have literally run out of skills.
To visit the Imago Relationship Theory website, please click here.
