Imago relationship therapy

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · Harville Hendrix, Helen LaKelly Hunt · 1980

What it is

IRT is a couples therapy founded in 1980 by Hendrix and Hunt. It is taught through Imago Relationships International and its training institutes, and its Imago-certified therapists work in about 60 countries. The imago is an unconscious picture of familiar love formed in childhood from caregivers'…

Format

• Format. Usually weekly sessions of 75–90 minutes, mainly conjoint, with some individual sessions. Homework is given every session and sessions are spaced out over time. Typical duration is 3–6 months. The same model is also delivered as couples' workshops ("Getting the Love You Want" weekend),…
• Short-term six-session structure (Luquet 2007, chapter titles; contents paraphrased from titles and secondary summaries):

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• GoodTherapy describes the model through five principles that cover the same sequence: re-imaging the partner, re-romanticizing, restructuring frustrations, resolving rage and re-visioning the relationship. Hendrix and Hunt's 2021 public workshop uses a related order: mirroring, appreciation, Zero Negativity and affirmations; then how the imago forms and the childhood challenges-and-needs dialogue; then Zero…
• Training and use of the name. The route GoodTherapy reports: attend an Imago couples' workshop; hold a relevant advanced degree and professional membership; complete Imago Clinical Training (96 hours); then Imago Certification; then advanced clinician training, professional development and faculty levels. Hendrix and Hunt also run shorter professional trainings (e.g. a 15-hour "space-between" course) and offer Imago…
• IRT is a couples therapy founded in 1980 by Hendrix and Hunt. It is taught through Imago Relationships International and its training institutes, and its Imago-certified therapists work in about 60 countries. The imago is an unconscious picture of familiar love formed in childhood from caregivers' traits, especially the hurtful ones, and it steers partner choice. Partners then tend to recreate old dynamics with each…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Scorekeeping ("I did three, you did one").
• Starting to problem-solve before the frustration has been heard.
• The therapist doing too much talking; partners turning to the therapist to adjudicate.
• Visions that are lists of complaints about the partner; one partner's vision taking over.
• Surprises that are really for the giver; surprises that miss (use them as information and mirror the reaction).

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.