The Holistic Counseling Center of Long Island offers Imago Relationship Therapy for Couples, Families & Individuals in NY.
Getting The Love You Want
Couples Counseling
Imago therapy is great for couples wishing to improve communication, intimacy & understanding. We teach couples specific communication techniques that allow both people to feel safe & connected as they talk about their problems instead of entering the painful, “power struggle”.
For married & single couples of all gender & sexual orientations.
What is Imago Relationship Therapy?
The Latin word “imago” means “image” which refers to your unconscious image of familiar love. Meaning, there’s frequently a connection between frustrations in our adult relationships and our early childhood experiences.
Through Imago Relationship Therapy, couples learn to understand each other’s feelings and “childhood wounds” more empathically, allowing them to heal themselves and their relationships so they can move toward a more conscious relationship together.
For example, an individual who was frequently criticized as a child will likely be highly sensitive to their romantic partner’s criticism. Or, they may be unconsciously attracted towards a partner that belittles them.
Childhood feelings of abandonment, suppression, or neglect will often arise in other relationships. When such core issues repeatedly come up with a partner, they can overshadow all that is good in a relationship and leave one to wonder whether s/he has chosen the right mate.
Is Imago Therapy Ok For Just Me?
Yes! This type of therapy is also very effective individually.
What you’ll experience is a safe environment to explore what’s getting in the way of having healthy relationships and living the life you truly want. We work with you to understand the patterns in your past and current relationships to identify areas of growth/healing, and help you create a life where successful relationships can thrive.
Whether you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, addiction, trauma or more, we can help you understand what’s going on underneath the surface and work toward a healthier future.
Learning and teaching the Imago dialogue allows couples, families and individuals move from blame and reactivity, to understanding and empathy, so that they can create a deeper and loving connection with each other.
Shattered dreams are painful, whatever form they take, but there is hope. The pain and conflict of committed relationships arise not out of lack of love for our partners. It’s from a misunderstanding of what love relationships are about.
Your conflict can be the very fuel for the fulfillment you seek.
To fulfill your desire to connect, you must:
Learn to communicate effectively with your partner.
In the Imago dialogue, both parties agree to a basic ground rule: one person talks at a time.
There’s one person speaking or “sending”, and another who is listening or “receiving”. When you are in the role of the receiver/listener, you will be exercising the three steps of Imago dialogue:
Mirroring, Validation, Empathy
After the sender/speaker has said all that they have to say, and the receiver has mirrored, validated and empathized, the whole process reverses. The receiver now gets their turn to respond with whatever came up for them while listening. Now the sender shifts into being the new receiver who does the mirroring, validating and empathizing.
Also, a good thing to remember is that when partners trade places, the new sender doesn’t start a new topic, but responds to what the first sender said to complete the dialogue. We stay on one topic until both parties have spoken about it and responded.
Harville Hendrix, PhD & Helen Hunt, PhD are the founders of Imago relationship therapy. They’ve written over 10 books, including 3 New York Times bestsellers.
Marriage—even for marriage experts—is never easy. Just like any other couple, Harville and Helen experienced a power struggle where they attempted to change, coerce, and threaten each other to be “more like me.” A critical comment would degenerate into loud arguments. Blaming each other was a common focus of conversation.
After a decade of marriage, they found themselves teetering on the brink of divorce. As Harville and Helen routinely trained other therapists how to save marriages, they started to lose hope that their own relationship would survive. Facing the inevitable, they decided to give one last try and commit to do everything possible to salvage their relationship.
Ironically, their own teaching made the biggest difference. Harville and Helen experienced the ultimate benefit of “practicing what you preach” to overcome negativity and learn to lovingly communicate with each other. They reconnected through the exercises they use to coach thousands of other couples, restored their marriage, and enjoy a true partnership that has lasted over 30 years. Their story of hope and seasoned history of helping others uniquely qualifies Harville and Helen as true relationship experts.
Harville and Helen co-created Imago Relationship Therapy to promote the transformation of couples and families by a creating relational culture that support universal equality. In addition, they’ve developed resources that help couples, families, and educators strengthen their relationship knowledge and skills. They are the co-founders of Imago Relationships International, a non-profit organization that has trained over 2,000 therapists and educators in 51 countries around the world.
Contact us for more information today.
** Please note that we do not accept insurance.
However, we can provide you with statements for OON benefits.
Office Hours (Miller Place):
- Monday 12-7pm
- Tuesday 12-9pm
- Wednesday 12-8pm
- Thursday 12-9pm
- Friday 12-7pm
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