Imago Relationship Therapy : An Introduction to Theory and Practice

Developed by renowned therapist and bestselling author Harville Hendrix, PhD, Imago Therapy is a groundbreaking approach to working with couples. The "Imago" is the unconscious image we hold of our parents. According to Hendrix, people select their mates by seeking "Imago matches"--individuals who resemble their parents in salient ways. A couple's relationship dynamic is created and shaped as each partner interacts with his or her Imago match, revisiting unfinished or unresolved issues from childhood. Based on the ideas popularized in Hendrix's New York Times bestseller Getting the Love You Want, this is the first book to systematically describe to mental health professionals the theory and practice of Imago Therapy. Rick Brown, ThM, the Executive Director of the Institute for Imago Relationship Therapy, reveals the developmental and analytic underpinnings of the Imago approach, and clearly demonstrates how to apply these principles in a clinical setting. Drawing on a range of case studies, Brown shows how to coach couples to work through their unresolved childhood issues and toward a safe, passionate, and committed conscious relationship. The first clinical primer to this innova-tive approach to couples therapy, Imago Relationship Therapy brings therapists a comprehensive and practical exploration of one of the most talked about approaches in the field. "As a co-originator, with Helen Hunt, of the theory and practice, I am delighted with the accuracy of the presentation and feel gratified that it finally brings Imago Relationship Therapy to the therapeutic community. I give it my full endorsement. While other books have been written on application of IRT to other contexts and summary chapters have appeared in other books, this is the first book-length primer to describe the general practice of IRT with couples. Rick Brown is eminently qualified to write this book. He has been a Certified Imago Therapist(r) for nearly a decade, teaching the theory and practice to therapists nationally and internationally, and he has been an able Executive Director of the Institute for Imago Relationship Therapy. I was delighted to learn that he was invited by the publisher to expand his public lectures into a book. Therapists who read it will get a general overview of the metatheory, the clinical theory, and the clinical practice of Imago Relationship Therapy...It does offer therapists who wish to become familiar with IRT an accurate and clear guide to its theory and practice and, in addition, it is an excellent review for Imago therapists." --Harville Hendrix, PhD, from the Foreword.