Posted by Kupord Maizzed on February 18, 2004, at 10:47:45
In reply to Re: Imago therapy » DaisyM, posted by Dinah on January 2, 2004, at 9:09:54
Dinah,
My wife and I encountered Imago Therapy a few years ago when my dad gave us the "Getting the Love You Want" book. We read a lot of it and started on the exercises, but I have to admit it probably needed more discipline and maturity than we had.
Lately my dad gave us an Imago video workshop that we are going through with better success. The video workshop takes what I think is a little more refined approach. We are very impressed. Well anyway, I better explain what Imago Therapy is.
Imago Therapy is only for romantic couples. The idea is that you are attracted to a person who fits your internal image of your primary caretakers, particularly in their undesirable traits. The reason for this is that your sub-conscious (or nature, or--to me--God) wants to resolve and heal all your childhood wounds, and when it finds just the right person with whom all the childhood issues can be relived and resolved, it applies the anesthesia of romantic love and ZAP! you find yourself married before you know what hit you. Then when the anesthesia wears off, you start reliving the issues of your childhood until by love and maturity the two of you are able to heal and resolve each others' childhood wounds.
It is a beautiful and loving--but difficult and demanding--theory, for which reasons my wife and I find it deeply satisfying. It seems just REAL, like life. The idea of growth through difficulty is what life is all about.
In the course of the therapy you reveal new understandings about each other that enable each other to feel more compassion and desire to help and love.
I think that the combination of getting an EXPLANATION of your conflicts and receiving a REVELATION of your spouse's innocent wounds is powerful and sound. But it is a challenging type of therapy that requires committment and some maturity. I only hope my wife and I will see it to the end.
poster:Kupord Maizzed
thread:295039
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040218/msgs/315129.html