Are you thinking about training as a couples counsellor but you’re unsure of what course to take? In this post I’ll explore why Imago Relationship Therapy might be the perfect way of working for you. I’ve been an Imago Relationship Therapist for over a decade so let me tell you why Imago is the best way I know of working with couples. It Works! I’m not sure if there is a more important point than this one. Harville Hendrix puts it this way: “I think for an individual therapist, Imago is no longer throwing mud against the wall and seeing if it helps couples. If you do it, you will help couple ..read more

Working as a therapist and thinking about working with couples? Great! I think you should do it, and here are 3 reasons why. Diversify Working as a couples therapist will diversify your practice. Only working with individuals can get a bit samey, couples are a totally different ball game. If you are going to be a confident, potent couples therapist then you are going to need to train in couples therapy so you really know what you’re doing. Once you’ve trained then you will bring a whole new element into your practice. This will shift the energy in your day and mix things up for you. Demand Th ..read more

A guest post by Olympic Cyclist Ryan Owens Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com – 07/10/2019 – British Cycling – Great Britain Cycling Team Headshots – HSBC UK National Cycling Centre, Manchester, England – Ryan Owens Back in March everything seemed to be going to plan. Fresh off a silver medal and national record with my team at the World Track Cycling Championships in Berlin I was starting to look ahead to the summer and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to try and go one better. The rest of the story will no doubt be familiar to many, less than a month later the Olympics were postponed and the n ..read more

What’s the point of you coming to psychotherapy? Why bother coming to couples counselling? Here’s my premise: it’s easy to start both activities and forget why you started in the first place. This is a reflection of how we live our lives. You fall into autopilot and do things because you’ve always done them, never really questioning yourself as to why you’re doing them. Why Are You Here? Whenever I work with a couple or an individual, or even if you’re a participant of my couples counselling training, I’m going to be asking why you’re here and what your intentions are for the work. In individ ..read more

Feeling off your perch?  Maybe you’re not meeting all of your psychological hungers?   Eric Berne, the father of Transactional Analysis, came up with a cracking bit of theory around what us humans need in our lives to feel fulfilled.  Food, shelter and sex form our physical needs, but Eric said our psychological hungers are just as important.  They are structure, stimulation, and recognition. Why should you care? Eric Berne and Fred Elliot mentioned in the same post … Ah, good question padowan, you’re learning!  Because this piece of theory is useful, my friend!  Useful I say ..read more

Let me tell you about Dave (not his real name, his real name is Mike – only joking, let’s carry on…) Dave has the fascinating capacity to turn every conversation back to himself.  If I say I’ve got toothache, he’s had root canal surgery.  If I like The Smiths, he will have seen them live in concert 5 times.  If I’m doing X, then Dave will have done X+10. Dave is self absorbed. Dave does not have the capacity to pick the ball and then pass it back under any circumstances.  It’s more that he sees the ball, grabs it and runs into the distance, totally beyond my view.   Playing ball w ..read more

Autopilot behaviour happens to us all.  It’s all of those behaviours you do without even thinking.   Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is particularly interested in this behaviour because it often gets in the way of you having a rich, fulfilling life. Sometimes it’s like you’ve morphed into a zombie and you are sleepwalking yourself into Hell. When you wake up it can be too late and leaves you dealing with the aftermath. Shiny Head What things do you do on autopilot?  Here’s a couple of mine: When I’m having a shower, I often can’t remember if I’ve washed my hair or not ..read more

What can you do in 4 minutes?  Make a brew?  Boil an egg?  Shift your relationship with the one you love?  Oh yes my friend – all of these are possible and I will tell you how. Now given that you’ve probably mastered the brew making and the egg boiling, let’s jump straight into how to improve your relationship in 4 minutes a day! I want you to focus on transition times.  These are times when you are shifting from one thing to another and there are 4 well-defined ones that stand out above the rest. When you wake up When you leave for work When you return from work When you go to sleep ..read more

Can you remember when you first fell in love?  Awesome wasn’t it? And there’s a reason for that – you were off your face on drugs! Not in a bad way I hasten to add, and you couldn’t help it.  It was just your bodies very cunning way to get you to find a mate and reproduce. The Romantic Phase In Imago Relationship Therapy, we call the first phase of a relationship the Romantic Phase.  Many things are going on, but one of the key changes you will experience is the chemicals that are being bumped into your body by your brain. Let’s spend some time taking an unscientific look at som ..read more

Want to make your partner feel more loved? Making your other half feel cared about is straightforward, honest! Here’s 4 simple but important ways of doing it. 1. Show Up You will have been in one of those situations that has resulted in you saying, “I’ve really found out who my friends are with this”.  That’s what I’m talking about.  Being there when the shit hits the fan and they need support. Showing up involves attuning to your partner and knowing what’s going on in their lives.  You find this out by talking to them. No really, I’m not being facetious.  So many couples I have ..read more