https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/imago-therapy-stop-arguments-relationships-partner-three-steps-trick-sender-reciever-a7886366.html

All couples fight. From arguing over the children, relatives, money and sex, it’s completely natural to have disagreements with your partner. But if it’s becoming a regular occurrence, it can begin to take its toll.

Enter Imago therapy; a super-rational tool designed to teach couples how to express themselves without the need for inimical conflict.

Like most forms of couple therapy, the point is to help you reconnect with your partner but where Imago differs is with its logical three-step script that includes mirroring, validation, and empathy. 

What’s more, it doesn’t matter whether you’re in a long-term relationship, the early stages of burgeoning love, or simply looking for the best way to avoid confrontation in every day life, Imago is here to help. 

So, how does it work?

Under the guidance of a completely impartial therapist, couples begin with the mirroring stage. Here, one person will act as the ‘sender’ and the other one takes up the role of ‘receiver.’

The ‘sender’ is encouraged to talk about their perspective on whatever the issue is, while the ‘receiver’ must listen and repeat back to see if they understood what was being said. 

Essentially, the aim is to have a logical conversation without getting angry or upset. It’s all about getting out of your own head and into a more neutral, understanding space. 

The next stage, validation, is all about understanding where your partner is coming from, regardless of whether or not you agree with what they’re saying. You simply need to express that you validate their perspective.    

The ultimate goal with the final step, empathy, is all about crossing over into your partners world and acknowledging aspects of their life that might contribute to how the feel and behave in the relationship. 

It's all about moving on from what can feel like a constant power struggle to a place where you can see where you partner is coming from…

Understanding promotes peace in relationships.

Welcome...

Better Health Psychology practice is located in Perth, Western Australia. We deliver care and evidence-based treatments for mental health concerns, sports coaching and mentoring for life and career.

There are times in our lives when any of us can feel as though we need help and space to think through ways of moving forward or sorting out events.  It may be painful memories from the past, events in the present or worries about the future.  Whatever the issues, therapy can help you explore your thoughts and feelings and help change to how you think, feel and behave. 

I am trained in many areas of therapy, such as; anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, trauma, abuse, bereavement, relationship issues, anger, etc., and I am happy to work on an individual basis or with couples or children, in either short or long term therapy.  I believe counselling is led by the client and I will tailor my approach to your individual needs.

I understand that issues can affect people of every age and there can be unique challenges presented by social pressures, relationships, work and family. No matter how big or small your concern, whether playing on your mind or having an impact on your life, we can lend a hand.

I can provide expert care and support for a range of needs, so that you can move forward to a more rewarding and satisfying future.

What is Discernment Counselling?

Discernment counselling is where couples who are uncertain whether they want to continue their relationship can see a psychologist that will help them clarify their thoughts about whether they want the relationship to continue or to end the relationship. This is a very gentle and respectful treatment that we offer at Better Health Psychology in order to help couples consider all options before they make their decision. It is useful for current relationships, as part of marriage counselling and also for singles that want to understand what happened in a previous relationship. It is not about blaming anyone and respecting both people is an important part of this process.

Discernment counselling can be offered as part of couples therapy, or to one person from a couple who is unsure whether to stay in the relationship. In some cases, one or both people in the relationship are relieved that they found the clarity to end the relationship. In other cases, we find that there was a reason for the couple’s difficulties that can be treated and this means that the couple will now feel happy and fully confident about continuing their relationship together long-term. Living with ambivalence and stress every day causes more harm to a couple, or family, than making a decision to end the relationship (and learning to live apart and be happy). On the other hand, you could be stressed and uncertain about the relationship for years, only to start Discernment Counselling and find the answers you needed to finally be fully committed to staying together. Discernment counselling makes sense of it so that you can feel confident in your relationship decision.