Healing in the Relational Paradigm

Already practiced by thousands of therapists around the world, Imago Relationship Therapy (IRT) has aroused the interest of a widening international psychotherapy community. Now, for the first time, Healing in the Relational Paradigm: The Imago Relationship Therapy Casebook brings you directly into the therapists office to see firsthand how the tenets of IRT can translate into powerful and enduring skills for couple clients. Providing access to Imago work with a broad range of couple types, the book reveals ways in which activities, such as Couples Dialogue and the Container Exercise, help couples expand and strengthen their relational vocabulary. The first chapter, which proposes a new way of conceptualizing child development and its impact on the forming and maintaining of intimate relationships, lays the foundation for the chapters to follow. Subsequent topics - each handled by a front lines Imago therapist - reflect a true picture of the spectrum of issues and identities that are present in therapy. The contents cover attachment, exploratory, identity and competence wounded couples. Other contributions describe work with African-American, Hispanic, and gay and lesbian couples, while the impact of HIV/AIDS and Attention Deficit Disorder is explored in a third section. Finally, contributors offer a clear relational lens through which to view the core couple issues of addiction, sexuality, infidelity and spirituality. Healing in the Relational Paradigm demonstrates Imagois flexibility and promise across populations and in the hands of very different practitioners. The book shows the Imago approach to be more than just another technique: it is a profound shift in perspective, reinforced by a network of positive assumptions and communication exercises that together create an environment for healthy change. This volume would be suitable for marriage and family therapists.

Wade Luquet, Mo Therese Hannah

Chapter 1: The Relational Paradigm; Chapter 2: Couples Wounded At The Attachment Phase; Chapter 3: The Exploratory-Wounded Couple; Chapter 4: The Rigid/Diffuse Couple; Chapter 5: Therapist, Heal Thyself: A Passive/Competitive Couple; Chapter 6: Is Imago Therapy Culturally Relevant? Case Studies With African-American Couples; Chapter 7: Imago Therapy With Hispanic Couples; Chapter 8: Living In The "Not Knowing"; Chapter 9: Multiple Mirroring With Lesbian And Gay Couples: From Peoria To P-Town; Chapter 10: When A Partner Has Aids: Therapy With Gay/Lesbian Couples; Chapter 11: Going Beyond Aids: Therapy With Heterosexual Couples; Chapter 12: The Impact Of Adult Attention-Deficit Disorder On Couples; Chapter 13: Addiction, Couples, And Recovery; Chapter 14: Imago Therapy With Sexually Dy Sfunctional Couples; Chapter 15: Validation As A Facilitator Of Forgiveness For Adultery; Chapter 16: Imago Relationship Therapy As A Spiritual Path