Deepening Change in Imago Relationship Therapy
CPD courses & hours for psychologists in Australia
This talk explores how Imago Relationship Therapy can support deep and sustainable relational change by working with the present relationship space, the emotional roots of reactivity, and the future partners want to create together. Caroline Bernhardt-Lanier examines how the Imago Dialogue can support safety, regulation, differentiation, empathy, and greater responsiveness between partners.
Through clinical examples and video demonstrations, participants will see how therapists can help couples move beneath recurring conflicts toward deeper emotional meaning and then translate insight and longing into concrete relational practice. The talk highlights clinical judgment throughout: when to remain with present-moment connection, when to explore earlier relational experience, and when a couple may be ready to move toward requests, behavior change, and a more conscious shared future.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this talk, participants will be able to:
- Describe how Imago Dialogue can be used to deepen work with couples beyond the presenting conflict.
- Identify therapist interventions that support safety, deeper understanding, and movement toward change.
- Recognize when it may be useful to stay with present-moment experience, explore earlier relational experiences, or help partners focus on the relationship they want to create.
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