"The model just made so much sense"

Rob Drezner, Ph.D joined an Imago training to fulfill his CEU requirements, and with no expectations, but immediately connected. "The model for marriage counseling just made so much sense" he recalls, "I was stunned at the beauty of the relational paradigm, moving from me working with the individual, to the individuals themselves exploring their hearts with the help and compassion of their partners. It was a safe and structured way of healing not only the relationship but each partner as well. I realized how much Imago resonated with what I had always been thinking."

"While taking the couples therapist training, I was getting surprising results in my practice. I was taken aback at the level of intimacy generated. Imago creates enormous connection for my couples, I am frequently moved to tears."

Before training in Imago, Rob found marriage counseling to be difficult. Afterwards he was happy to accept referrals from other therapists who don't work with couples.

Unlearning how to be a therapist

"I unlearned how to be a therapist!  Imago taught me to listen in a different way" Sabine Young recalls.  "And it really does work!  Now it impacts all the other modalities I have studied." 

As an established trainer in Transpersonal Psychotherapy, Sabine had also trained in many other approaches.   But when she and her partner Chris first came across a copy of Harville's book, "Getting the Love You Want", they loved it so much that each day they read aloud to each other.  She was so eager to study Imago couples therapy, that she personally organized the first Imago training in Britain, arranging for Sophie Slade to visit from Canada.

During Sophie's class. Sabine experienced that "each partner in the couple really began to see and hear each other for the very first time".  "I am often quite strong in a group" says Sabine who jokingly attributes her personal power to her German upbringing.  "From Imago I have learned the power of standing back, and of being extremely respectful of the other's point of view." 

Imago places a strong emphasis on respecting the otherness of each partner.  "Allowing the differences to co-exist works wonderfully with couples" she says.

"It's just not possible to get his much from a book" she recalls "During the training you learn to integrate the Imago dialogue into your life.  You learn how to go beyond your limitations, and how to become different, so that you can work much more effectively."  She became so practiced in using dialogue herself, that she was able to easily overcome couple's resistance to the process and help them to resolve marriage problems.  

Soon after the training, more and more couples came to Sabine for help, and her reputation as an effective couples therapist grew.   Her work with individuals continues, and she still loves to lead groups.  "It's all about relationships" she says.  "Introducing Imago helps people to take responsibility for themselves, and to learn how to be separate from one another in a very respectful way.  It's the awareness of differences that can bring such richness into people's lives"