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Imago Relationship Therapy |
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Creating Healthy Relationships That Work ...at home ...at work ...in the community |
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ABOUT THE NATURE OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
After the connection of romantic love and temporary bliss, the power struggle presents us with an extraordinary opportunity for healing. Our partner’s needs serve as a blueprint for our growth and it is precisely these needs, which we find most difficult to meet.
It is always a shock to discover that we have chosen a partner who frustrates us in the same way we have been frustrated by our primary caregivers in childhood. Since we look for someone to heal our wounds, we can’t believe we find just the one to rub in the salt. What we don’t realize is that it is the process of going through the frustration and the inevitable power struggle that allows us the greatest chance for healing. The person who can hurt us the most is also the best suited to help us heal.
We fall in love with the projections of all that needs repairing in ourselves. Our childhood experiences form an unconscious image, the Imago, which affects our identity, our choices in partner selection and our reactions to conflict and intimacy. When we move into consciousness we are able to re-claim the lost and wounded parts of ourselves to become the lover we wanted our mates to be. In being the lover rather than looking for a lover, our mates also heal. This is one of the most difficult truths about relationships for most of us to accept: that in order to be loved we must first become a lover. We must be willing to grow and change and commit ourselves to our partner’s healing as well as our own. Being the right partner is more important to a good relationship than picking the right partner.
Imago Relationship Therapy and skills can help you to turn reactive, defensive behavior into a force for compassion, healing and growth that has potential for transforming your present and future relationships.
These concepts are based upon numerous theories synthesized by Dr. Harville Hendrix and published in his best-selling books:
Getting the Love You Want, A Guide for Couples Keeping The Love You Find, A Guide for Singles Giving the Love That Heals, A Guide for Parents
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Marilyn Sylvan Thompson, Ed.S., L.M.S.W., L.P.C. |
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Marilyn Sylvan Thompson Ed.S, LMSW, LPC
Phone: 517-351-3456 Fax: 517-351-3510
947 Roxburgh Ave. East Lansing, MI 48823 |
