Australian psychologists can learn Imago Relationship Therapy skills. Focus on empathy, Zero Negativity, and effective dialogue.
Australian psychologists and counsellors working with couples can put core Imago skills into practice with this second course in the series. It draws on developmental psychology and neurobiology to show how childhood memories are triggered in adult relationships and how empathic presence can build new neural pathways. Participants learn to apply Zero Negativity and the stretching process to create safety, turn frustrations into needs-based requests and hold dialogue that supports connection. The course also separates appreciation from affirmation and explains why affirming a partner's intrinsic worth supports equality and differentiation.
This talk explores the Imago Relationship Therapy (IRT) framework for transforming relational dynamics through empathy, Zero Negativity, affirmation, and intentional dialogue. Drawing on developmental psychology and neurobiology, we examine how childhood wounds are activated in adult relationships and how empathic presence can create corrective emotional experiences that rewire neural pathways. The session explains why negativity arises from a survival-driven bias toward threat, and how the Zero Negativity practice shifts partners into a state of safety that allows genuine connection to emerge. Participants will learn how frustrations mask deeper wishes and unmet childhood needs, and how dialogue, the stretching principle and effective expression of needs create opportunities for healing, differentiation, and true relational closeness. Finally, we clarify the distinction between appreciation and affirmation: how partners can learn to affirm each other’s intrinsic worth, an essential step toward equality, empathy, and sustaining real love.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this talk, participants will be able to: