About IMAGO

Imago is effective as a way to create stronger relationships, because it helps us become more aware of the way that we are all deeply interconnected.

Love and relationships can feel very confusing. One moment we might be falling in love with a partner who we imagine will make our life exciting, and full of possibility. Later we find ourselves locked into a cycle of arguments, almost losing sight of what we first saw in them. What's going on?

Imago provides clear answers to these questions, supported by the work of great psychologists, from Freud to Neuroscience. Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt have adapted these insights into a series of dialogue-based exercises. These exercises help you and your partner understand why you were attracted to each other, and why those reasons drew you into a cycle of disagreement that we call the power struggle.

Imago teaches that this power struggle is a natural part of your relationship. Through the Imago dialogue you can discover that the power struggle has a purpose: to help you both grow, and together experience the deep joy of true love.

What attracted you to them in the first place. . .

Imago is the Latin word for image or picture. In his book Getting the Love You Want, Dr. Harville Hendrix developed the premise that your personal imago is a composite of those people who influenced you most strongly at an early age. You find yourself attracted to people with much the same traits as your original caretakers.

. . . can also be your source of conflict.

Unconsciously, then, you bring unresolved childhood conflicts into your romantic relationship -giving your partner the burden of meeting those needs. Both members of a couple tend to do this, of course. And without understanding why their conflicts arise, many people simply walk away from their relationship. But for most couples, even a conflicted partnership has vast potential for mutual healing.

» Read "An Introduction to Imago" by Harville Hendrix

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