BETHESDA MD IMAGO THERAPY

Being a dynamic people, traditional therapy and couples counseling doesn’t always work for everyone. Some couples find themselves at an impasse – they need help, but the multitude of options are overwhelming or everything they’ve tried feels fruitless.  Imago Relationship Therapy may be exactly what you are looking for as it is widely known for successfully helping couples navigate the complexities of marriage.

Couples therapists Dr. Harville Hendrix and his wife, Dr. Helen LaKelly Hunt, developed Imago Therapy after studying couples for ten years and writing two bestselling books, Keeping the Love you Find for singles in 1982, and Getting the Love You Want for couples in 1988. Drs. Hendrix and Hunt met after their own divorces, and fueled by the desire to understand why they their first marriages failed, developed a therapy technique that challenged the long-standing marital counseling therapy practices.

BETHESDA COUPLES COUNSELING IMAGO THERAPY CAN HELP

  1. Rediscover the old flame… and keep it lit. Falling in love is like magic, changing our entire personality and infusing us with happiness and the sensation of total completeness. We were never meant to live in this emotion forever, but when romance dwindles, “hidden agendas” can surface. Keeping the spark alive isn’t about finding the right partner, but becoming the right partner. Having a successful relationship is about having the proper tools and skills.
  2. Conflict is NOT the enemy. Imago Therapy offers couples the blueprints needed for growth and healing for both partners. Understanding what is at the heart of our conflicts, and the message it carries, gives insight to what each partner’s deepest unmet needs are, and what you need to be happy and fulfilled.
  3. The way to your Heart is through your brain? The brain is programmed to protect us from any and all threats to our survival. Often, our natural fight-or-flight instincts take over, and in the attempt to protect ourselves, inadvertently harm our partner.  Imago Therapy teaches couples how to utilize a high level of awareness and specific relationship tools to develop safer habits, cultivate love and affection, and eliminate the unsafe communication that stirs our natural defenses.
  4. A new way of talking. Stay connected to your partner by learning to discuss frustrations and needs in a safe and loving way. No longer fear expressing yourself to the detriment of your partner.
  5. Our Image of Love.  Imago Therapy unlocks the subconscious ideals and desires for a specific person we want and expect to love and be loved by. Every person’s “imago” is formed in childhood by our experiences, and influences our choice in partners and expectations we then have of them. Identifying and understanding our respective Imago and that of our partners allows us to proactively become the person we each desire.
  6. Coupledom is Curative. Marriage is often reflective of the relationships we developed with our parents or caregivers as children, where we were cared for and attended to. Acknowledging this opens the possibility to deeply understand our partner’s needs, and working together to find healthy and loving ways to meet them. As a couple becomes partners in their everyday life, they can work together to finish growing and healing, providing the same safe space they had as children.  Imago Therapy shows couples the deep commitment of their marriage can be a safe place for healing, transformation, and growth.