Michael Levin’s the Case for Torture (Review)

Michael Levin’s â€Å"The Case for Torture† contends that there are different purposes behind permitting torment to exist in the United States of America. Levin couldn't imagine anything better than to see society change its negative perspectives on torment so that, in specific situations, torment would be passable. The article begins with an exceptionally short portrayal of how he accepts society sees the subject of torment as a negative thing. He leads on to contradict that perspective and gives three cases in which he accepts torment must be managed with different reasons endeavoring to help his considerations. The theoretical cases Levin utilizes extend from extraordinary circumstances, to a circumstance where we may some of the time see on the news. Levin makes it understood to the crowd that he doesn't concur with torment as a discipline and spotlights on precisely what it ought to be utilized for. He additionally focuses on that there is a significant contrast among fear based oppressors and casualties and he trusts it would stop the discussion of â€Å"terrorist rights†. Levin likewise composes on his conviction that most psychological militant do their wrongdoings for exposure and therefore, the fear based oppressor will be genuinely simple to recognize and later be tormented. He shuts the article by saying torment would make little risk western popular governments and anticipating what he accepts will occur later on. After numerous through readings of Michael Levin’s article, I feel the demeanor he conveys along exhaustive the article presents him as a forcefully confident individual. The majority of the thinking he gives is vigorously founded on pitiful interests. The power of sentiment he places into the peruser is extremely convincing yet doesn't satisfy the contention just as it ought to on account of the absence of good rationale and thinking. Levin utilizes three primary concerns to persuade perusers why torment ought to be utilized. The primary significant point incorporates three theoretical cases as main motivation to why it‘s significant. His subsequent point clarifies the purpose behind the need of torment. At long last he states who gets the opportunity to get the tormenting and quickly depicts what the result might be. Levin's greatest point is produced from the three theoretical cases he furnishes the peruser with. As I would see it, they are plainly work more as an enthusiastic model and not a sound explanation. The first case is one in which a nuclear bomb is planted on Manhattan Island and will blow around early afternoon. The speculate requests cash and arrival of his companions from prison. He is gotten at 10 A. M. what's more, the man won’t uncover any data on the bomb. â€Å"What do you do† (201)? The second case talks about a bomb on an enormous fly. The presume's requests can't be met. Won’t we do anything to the scoundrel to the spare the travelers (201)? The third theoretical case is furnished with results from a four man survey. The case is one in which an infant is abducted from an emergency clinic. OK permit the tormenting of the ruffian so as to get him back? I feel that every one of the three theoretical circumstances have something about them that don't cause me to feel persuaded. The principal circumstance where the bomb is planted Manhattan Island appears to be excessively ridiculous because of reasons that you don't generally know about this sort of stuff on the news and furthermore that the aircraft is caught. Regardless of whether an individual requests cash and arrival of his companions from prison, Levin doesn't clarify how someone would approach discovering this individual any place he is covering up? Levin likewise has an exceptionally shaky area in clarifying the circumstance since when he talks about the plane, he says â€Å"Preferring demise to disappointment †Won’t unveil where the bomb is. †(201). Saying to perusers he inclines toward death to disappointment would legitimately imply that, regardless of whether tormented, the man is as yet not going to unveil the data since he would prefer to bite the dust than bombing his strategic accepting his needs. The subsequent circumstance's shortcoming's originates from an absence of basic data and indeed the rareness of the circumstance. The circumstance includes a Jumbo Jet where a bomb has been planted which can be defused ONLY by the aircraft which is in police authority. Levin says â€Å"Surely we can, we should, do anything to the blackmailer to spare the passengers† (201). Indeed, what precisely is torment going to do in this circumstance if the bomb is noticeable all around on the plane? How precisely is the bomb going to be defused? I feel that this circumstance could have improved quite a bit of a contention on the off chance that he would have set aside the effort to clear up precisely how the bomb would get defused. Later in the passage Levin includes, â€Å"If you got the psychological oppressor, might you be able to rest evenings realizing that millions kicked the bucket since you were unable to force yourself to apply the cathodes? â€Å"(201). It is unmistakably a genuinely stacked sentence. He intentionally emphasizes the word â€Å"you† on the grounds that he needs you to sink into that idea and cause you to feel downright awful about the circumstance. The third speculative case, which I think about most vulnerable, is clarified with consequences of a casual survey dependent on the circumstance. In the survey, four moms are inquired as to whether they would support the tormenting of the criminal that seizes their youngster if that were important to get them back. Every one of the four moms said they would endorse of it. I feel this contention doesn't give an extraordinary case of what makes torment satisfactory. It is a greater amount of a guide to show what somebody would accomplish for their friends and family. Its shortcoming is obviously found in the quantity of members in the survey that he is utilizing and in the one-sided conclusion they no doubt previously had. The best piece of Levin’s thinking is communicated when he talks about why precisely he accepts torment ought to be acknowledged and not saw upon as something awful. In the article, Levin says â€Å"I am upholding torment as an adequate measure for forestalling future indecencies. †(201). He works admirably of making it understood precisely what he implies. In doing as such, he quickly clarifies a contention he accepts individuals against capital punishment use. The contention is that by executing the killer, you are not bringing back the casualty that was murdered. Levin clarifies that as opposed to executing after a homicide has happened, he advocates that tormenting somebody prevents the honest from being dispatched. Levin clarifies that torment should ONLY be utilized for the sparing of lives. This prompts what he accepts is the most remarkable contention against torment. Individuals would demand that such practices dismiss the privileges of the person. Levin first counter-contention is introduced when he says â€Å"Well, if the individual is such significant, and he is, it is correspondingly critical to secure the privileges of people compromised by fear based oppressor. â€Å"(201). It appeared to be an extremely stable contention to me due to the manner in which he utilized enemy of torment line to help his professional torment contention. Levin later says â€Å"Unlike his casualties, he (the psychological oppressor) chipped in the dangers of his deed. By taking steps to slaughter for benefit or vision, he repudiates edified gauges, and he can have no grumbling if human advancement attempts to foil him by whatever implies fundamental. (202). He thinks if an individual chooses to restrict socialized guidelines, he ought not hope to be treated with indistinguishable rights from the individuals who do keep cultivated principles. In spite of the fact that it sounds sensible, he makes a presumption here. Levin expect that the specu late KNOWS they are conflicting with edified measures. Does this imply a sociopath that can't recognize enlightened guidelines would not be tormented? I feel more of explanation could support this contention. Levin addresses the issue of tormenting an inappropriate individual. He begins by causing a suspicion psychological oppressor to broadcast themselves and perform for TV and open acknowledgment. Levin says â€Å"After all, you can’t scare a legislature into discharging your political dissidents except if you declare that it is your gathering that has held onto its government office. †(202). It is simply one more theoretical circumstance to twist things his way without giving archived proof of a genuine circumstance where the psychological oppressor really distinguished themselves. It is as if in his eyes, he thinks finding the correct culprit is a basic undertaking. At long last, in the last passage he says â€Å"There will be little peril that the western vote based systems will lose their direction on the off chance that they decide to exact agony as a method of protecting request. I saw that his case appears to be somewhat adjusted in the last section. Levin begins the article discussing torment ONLY for the sparing of honest lives, yet now, he talks about torment for safeguarding request. Does this expand up the entire case? He additionally predicts that some time or another soon numerous lives will be undermined and torment will be the best way to spare them. This forecast is upheld by no proof what so ever and is obviously just to give dread to the individual understanding it. The conversation of key terms was not too bad in this article. At the point when he talks about torment the nearest depiction I found that characterize torment to Levin is: â€Å"Subjecting somebody to the most horrifying torment. † This may appear to be an extraordinary portrayal of what we see as torment yet the case of torment he makes reference to is â€Å"having the cathodes applied†. I truly wasn’t sure what he was alluding to until I found it on the web and read that anodes are what murder you in the hot seat. I accept he didn't give any better case of this since it can cause a peruser to contradict of the tormenting immediately on the off chance that he discusses a progressively abhorrent model. Levin additionally utilizes the word moral weakness to portray permitting the passing of a large number of blameless lives. He works superbly by clarifying that it implies the reluctance of dirtying ones hands. With respect to and ethos, the creator begins facing a major challenge by presenting the subject of torment as something social orders dismiss out and out, at that point saying he restricts the convictions of society on that top

The purpose of this lab activity was to measure anaerobic power per unit of time

The motivation behind this lab movement was to gauge anaerobic force per unit of time. This has to do with the strong quality of the body and the rate the body uses ATP and the anaerobic glycolysis framework. The Wingate test is performed by a warm up time of a few minutes followed by a resting time of one to two minutes. Proceeding with the test after the resting time frame the entertainer hawks as quick as he/she can for five seconds. At that point the opposition (determined by entertainer's weight partitioned by 2.205 rising to entertainers Kilogram Weight increased by .075) is included and the selling stays for 30 second at max throttle while the information is taken. The information is taken by extra subjects tallying the quantity of pedal turns all through the 30 seconds. This is the means by which the force yield is estimated for the quadriceps muscles. The primary concern for the test is that the subject must stay at maximal speed for the whole 30 seconds. This test is helpful for a competitor who is attempting to improve muscle solidarity to keep up or gain speed and force. As one ganders at the percentile diagrams of standards, he/she can assess his or herself among different competitors. This graph is helpful in light of the fact that it is a beginning stage for preparing and improving the quality expected to suffer and pick up muscle quality. As contrasted and the percentile of standards the information determined for me the entertainer, top 5-second was 1023.55 which is normal for an adapted competitor. For Anaerobic limit my level of 800.42001, which is remarkable by correlation with the percentile of standards, rises to the force yield of the muscle over the 30-seconds. At long last, the exhaustion list which mirrors the muscles capacity to oppose weakness, which my rate approached 53.33, was at a low protection from muscle weariness. In end to the aftereffects of the Wingate anaerobic test, I discovered that this test isn't actually the favored trial of

Imago Therapy for Relationships

Imago Therapy for Relationships Relationships Spouses & Partners Print Imago Therapy for Relationships By Jodi Clarke, MA, LPC/MHSP twitter linkedin Jodi Clarke, LPC/MHSP is a licensed professional counselor and mental health service provider with over 20 years of experience in the field. Learn about our editorial policy Jodi Clarke, MA, LPC/MHSP Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on September 18, 2018 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on July 29, 2019 More in Relationships Spouses & Partners Marital Problems LGBTQ Violence and Abuse In This Article Table of Contents Expand Relationships Emphasis Uses Imago Dialogue Individual Therapy Getting Started View All Back To Top Imago therapy is a specific style of relationship therapy designed to help conflict within relationships become opportunities for healing and growth. The term imago is Latin for image and, within imago relationship therapy, refers to an unconscious image of familiar love. Imago relationship therapy was developed by Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D. In the late 1970s, both clinicians had experienced divorce in their relationship history. After looking for effective and evidence-based support for understanding relationship dynamics and finding very little in the way of helpful resources, they chose to build from their own experiences to research and develop an evidence-based model of counseling that would help facilitate healing and growth in committed relationships. Imago and Relationships The concept of imago as an image of familiar love suggests that our early relationships teach us something about love and about ourselves. Through these early experiences, we develop a sense of an identity related to love, such as what love is and what we need to do in order to experience love from others and feel safe. In our early relationships, we start to develop a sense of self-worth based on how we are treated by important people in our lives. We start to develop attachment patterns and start to gain a sense of how we think we should be treated by others. For example, if growing up you only received praise and feelings of love from your caregivers when you performed well at a task, you may move into your adult life believing that you must perform well in order to be worthy of love and to receive care and comfort from your partner. If your partner turns away or shuts down on you, leaving you feeling unloved, you might quickly start to reflect on your own behaviors, replaying things and looking for what you may have done wrong for the person to treat you this way. 3 Key Factors in Healthy Relationships Our intimate relationships are prime ground for bringing up raw spots, old wounds, and patterned behaviors. These connections can leave us feeling close and cared for, as well as lonely and abandoned. It is not surprising that our intimate relationships often tend to bring up old, familiar emotional wounds since imago therapy suggests that we pick partners who feel familiar to us. When these old wounds come up in relationships, it can give us a chance to heal and grow. Imago relationship therapy believes this to be true as well. As Dr. Hendrix stated in his best-selling book Getting the Love You Want, We are born in relationship, we are wounded in relationship, and we can be healed in relationship. Picking a Familiar Partner Imago therapy suggests that we choose partners who remind us of our early caregiversâ€"a combination of their good qualities and not-so-good qualities. This is a reason why the person we seem to click with feels familiar to us and why we might be comfortable to let our guard down with them. Because they have traits we are familiar with, we also tend to know how to navigate those traits because of what we learned growing up. To think that we might select a partner with the same not-so-great traits as an early caregiver might drive us crazy! It makes sense, though, because we tend to find it easier to navigate situations and people who feel familiar to us. If you were used to getting the cold shoulder from a caregiver during times of conflict or distress, you might feel a strange, familiar comfort in a partner who does that as well, as compared to someone who is more assertive and actively engages in verbal exchange during times of conflict or distress. What Makes It Different? Although these concepts are utilized in different types of dynamic psychotherapy, imago therapy emphasizes that our early attachment experiences with caregivers may directly influence our choice of partner as an adult. As we date, we may come across someone who seems all too familiar and easy to connect with, almost as if we have known them before or for a long time. What imago therapy suggests is that these people feel familiar to us because they parallel relationship dynamics we have been in before with caregivers in our early experiences. When we feel comfortable and familiar with someone, we begin to let our guard down and grow closer, which makes it easier to build a romantic relationship. The closer we become over time, we may find old emotional wounds surfacing within our relationship and wonder what is happening. Another thing that makes imago therapy different from other styles of therapy is that it is focused on using conflict and distress and opportunities for healing and growth. Rather than teaching people how to simply fight better or find ways to avoid conflict within your relationship, imago therapy encourages couples to lean into those moments of distress and use them for exploration, curiosity, and learning. Imago therapy is collaborative, meaning that there is not a distinct role of a therapist as an advice-giving authority but, rather, the therapist works together with the couple to take a look at what is happening for them and healing the relationship as a whole. The therapist allows for the couple to be the experts of their dynamic, facilitating the conversation in a way that allows partners to learn from each other. What Can It Help With? Imago therapy was developed specifically for the understanding and healing of relationships. Some of the issues that imago therapy can help with include: Communication challengesRecurring disagreements/conflictFeelings of disconnectionLack of intimacyInfidelity/trust You do not have to necessarily be in distress to participate in imago relationship therapy. In fact, couples who are not in distress can significantly benefit from participating, learning about these dynamics within the relationship and gaining a better understanding of themselves and their partner. Who Can Imago Help? Those in committed relationships with a significant other would be excellent candidates to benefit from imago therapy. Couples at all stages and seasons of their relationship are encouraged to participate, from dating and premarital couples to those who have been together for many years.?Individuals can also participate in imago relationship therapy. People who are dating can certainly benefit from learning about their relationship patterns, choices of partners, and how to find and connect with someone who is a safe person and a healthy partner. Imago Dialogue One core aspect of imago relationship therapy is the imago dialogue. This dialogue is a structured method, facilitated by a trained imago therapist, which allows partners to gain understanding and increase empathy. The goals of imago dialogue are to: Remove negative, hurtful language from communicationCreate a safe emotional environment for both partners to openly shareAllow both partners equal space and eliminate the idea that one partner has more power over the other Within this dialogue there is a sender and a receiver, the sender being the one to share thoughts and feelings openly with their receiver. The receiver practices the following three steps during the imago dialogue: Mirroring: Repeating back what you have heard your partner say, in order to gain clarification and understanding. The receiver does this with no judgment, criticism or response, but simply repeating back what they have heard their partner say.Validation: The receiver works to validate parts of what their partner (the sender) has shared, what makes sense to them. As they are doing this, they are letting their partner know that they get it and are actively trying to understand. If there are parts that the receiver does not yet understand, they can ask the sender to share more.Empathy: At this point in the dialogue, the receiver shares with their partner what they think the other might be feeling. Sharing on this level is a way to let their partner know they are gaining a deeper understanding of their emotional experience, allowing the partner to feel seen and heard. Imago for Individuals Although imago relationship therapy is a model of counseling designed to effectively work with couples in committed relationships, you certainly do not need to be in an active relationship to benefit from imago therapy. In fact, many people who are dating may find this type of therapy very useful for examining their own history and how it might be influencing their dating patterns and choices in partners. By participating in imago therapy by yourself, you can learn what some of your old wounds or emotional raw spots might be that are impacting your relationships. Finding a sense of healing around these raw spots can be valuable in helping you move forward with more confidence and learning how to be a great, compassionate partner in your next relationship. Common Questions How Can I Get Started With Imago Therapy? Two main ways to start learning more about imago therapy and how it can help your relationship include workshops and therapy sessions. There are several varied workshops available, all based on the model of imago therapy. Some of the workshops available are tailored  specifically to: Premarital couplesCouples in distressCouples with childrenChristian couplesSame-sex couplesIndividuals Workshops are offered around the world and it is likely that there are workshops available in your area or region. The other method of participation is in counseling with an imago trained therapist. Sessions are traditionally offered one hour at a time, although there are often additional services available such as intensives that last a few hours or retreats that might last for a few days. Having face to face time with an imago trained therapist allows you and your partner to actively dig into the dynamics of your relationship. During that time you will be using dialogue, facilitated by the therapist, to explore and learn what happens for your partner when there is distress or conflict in the relationship. Actively seeking understanding can increase empathy and create a sense of connection and healing between partners so the same patterns and issues stop coming up time and time again. How Can I Find an Imago Therapist? Many therapists who work with couples have likely had some training inâ€"and basic understanding ofâ€"imago relationship therapy. You can find resources in your area, such as trained and even fully certified imago relationship therapists, at sites such as Imago Relationships International. There you can search a database of trained imago therapists from around the world, searching by your location and type of relationship need. You can also discover locations for a variety of workshops available, which are based on the principles of imago relationship therapy. Are There Times When Imago Therapy Might Not Help? As with other types of relationship therapy, there are times when imago therapy might not be a good fit for your relationship. These times might include situations such as domestic violence, active substance abuse, or other addictive behaviors that can get in the way of a successful relationship therapy experience. Imago therapy may only be effective when issues like this are resolved first.   How Couples Counseling Can Help With Addiction Issues Additional Resources If you are interested in learning about imago relationship therapy but not yet sure if you are interested in attending a workshop or therapy sessions, there are several popular books written by Dr. Hendrix and Dr. Hunt that you can check out, including: Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for CouplesKeeping the Love You Find: A Personal GuideMaking Marriage Simple: 10 Relationship Saving TruthsReceiving Love: Transforming Your Relationship By Letting Yourself Be LovedThe Space Between: The Point of ConnectionThe Happy Couples Secret: How to Build a Lasting, Satisfying Relationship Many of the titles have a workbook version available to help better understand the material and learn how it might apply to your own relationship patterns.

Imago Therapy for Relationships

Imago Therapy for Relationships Relationships Spouses & Partners Print Imago Therapy for Relationships By Jodi Clarke, MA, LPC/MHSP twitter linkedin Jodi Clarke, LPC/MHSP is a licensed professional counselor and mental health service provider with over 20 years of experience in the field. Learn about our editorial policy Jodi Clarke, MA, LPC/MHSP Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on September 18, 2018 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on July 29, 2019 More in Relationships Spouses & Partners Marital Problems LGBTQ Violence and Abuse In This Article Table of Contents Expand Relationships Emphasis Uses Imago Dialogue Individual Therapy Getting Started View All Back To Top Imago therapy is a specific style of relationship therapy designed to help conflict within relationships become opportunities for healing and growth. The term imago is Latin for image and, within imago relationship therapy, refers to an unconscious image of familiar love. Imago relationship therapy was developed by Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D. In the late 1970s, both clinicians had experienced divorce in their relationship history. After looking for effective and evidence-based support for understanding relationship dynamics and finding very little in the way of helpful resources, they chose to build from their own experiences to research and develop an evidence-based model of counseling that would help facilitate healing and growth in committed relationships. Imago and Relationships The concept of imago as an image of familiar love suggests that our early relationships teach us something about love and about ourselves. Through these early experiences, we develop a sense of an identity related to love, such as what love is and what we need to do in order to experience love from others and feel safe. In our early relationships, we start to develop a sense of self-worth based on how we are treated by important people in our lives. We start to develop attachment patterns and start to gain a sense of how we think we should be treated by others. For example, if growing up you only received praise and feelings of love from your caregivers when you performed well at a task, you may move into your adult life believing that you must perform well in order to be worthy of love and to receive care and comfort from your partner. If your partner turns away or shuts down on you, leaving you feeling unloved, you might quickly start to reflect on your own behaviors, replaying things and looking for what you may have done wrong for the person to treat you this way. 3 Key Factors in Healthy Relationships Our intimate relationships are prime ground for bringing up raw spots, old wounds, and patterned behaviors. These connections can leave us feeling close and cared for, as well as lonely and abandoned. It is not surprising that our intimate relationships often tend to bring up old, familiar emotional wounds since imago therapy suggests that we pick partners who feel familiar to us. When these old wounds come up in relationships, it can give us a chance to heal and grow. Imago relationship therapy believes this to be true as well. As Dr. Hendrix stated in his best-selling book Getting the Love You Want, We are born in relationship, we are wounded in relationship, and we can be healed in relationship. Picking a Familiar Partner Imago therapy suggests that we choose partners who remind us of our early caregiversâ€"a combination of their good qualities and not-so-good qualities. This is a reason why the person we seem to click with feels familiar to us and why we might be comfortable to let our guard down with them. Because they have traits we are familiar with, we also tend to know how to navigate those traits because of what we learned growing up. To think that we might select a partner with the same not-so-great traits as an early caregiver might drive us crazy! It makes sense, though, because we tend to find it easier to navigate situations and people who feel familiar to us. If you were used to getting the cold shoulder from a caregiver during times of conflict or distress, you might feel a strange, familiar comfort in a partner who does that as well, as compared to someone who is more assertive and actively engages in verbal exchange during times of conflict or distress. What Makes It Different? Although these concepts are utilized in different types of dynamic psychotherapy, imago therapy emphasizes that our early attachment experiences with caregivers may directly influence our choice of partner as an adult. As we date, we may come across someone who seems all too familiar and easy to connect with, almost as if we have known them before or for a long time. What imago therapy suggests is that these people feel familiar to us because they parallel relationship dynamics we have been in before with caregivers in our early experiences. When we feel comfortable and familiar with someone, we begin to let our guard down and grow closer, which makes it easier to build a romantic relationship. The closer we become over time, we may find old emotional wounds surfacing within our relationship and wonder what is happening. Another thing that makes imago therapy different from other styles of therapy is that it is focused on using conflict and distress and opportunities for healing and growth. Rather than teaching people how to simply fight better or find ways to avoid conflict within your relationship, imago therapy encourages couples to lean into those moments of distress and use them for exploration, curiosity, and learning. Imago therapy is collaborative, meaning that there is not a distinct role of a therapist as an advice-giving authority but, rather, the therapist works together with the couple to take a look at what is happening for them and healing the relationship as a whole. The therapist allows for the couple to be the experts of their dynamic, facilitating the conversation in a way that allows partners to learn from each other. What Can It Help With? Imago therapy was developed specifically for the understanding and healing of relationships. Some of the issues that imago therapy can help with include: Communication challengesRecurring disagreements/conflictFeelings of disconnectionLack of intimacyInfidelity/trust You do not have to necessarily be in distress to participate in imago relationship therapy. In fact, couples who are not in distress can significantly benefit from participating, learning about these dynamics within the relationship and gaining a better understanding of themselves and their partner. Who Can Imago Help? Those in committed relationships with a significant other would be excellent candidates to benefit from imago therapy. Couples at all stages and seasons of their relationship are encouraged to participate, from dating and premarital couples to those who have been together for many years.?Individuals can also participate in imago relationship therapy. People who are dating can certainly benefit from learning about their relationship patterns, choices of partners, and how to find and connect with someone who is a safe person and a healthy partner. Imago Dialogue One core aspect of imago relationship therapy is the imago dialogue. This dialogue is a structured method, facilitated by a trained imago therapist, which allows partners to gain understanding and increase empathy. The goals of imago dialogue are to: Remove negative, hurtful language from communicationCreate a safe emotional environment for both partners to openly shareAllow both partners equal space and eliminate the idea that one partner has more power over the other Within this dialogue there is a sender and a receiver, the sender being the one to share thoughts and feelings openly with their receiver. The receiver practices the following three steps during the imago dialogue: Mirroring: Repeating back what you have heard your partner say, in order to gain clarification and understanding. The receiver does this with no judgment, criticism or response, but simply repeating back what they have heard their partner say.Validation: The receiver works to validate parts of what their partner (the sender) has shared, what makes sense to them. As they are doing this, they are letting their partner know that they get it and are actively trying to understand. If there are parts that the receiver does not yet understand, they can ask the sender to share more.Empathy: At this point in the dialogue, the receiver shares with their partner what they think the other might be feeling. Sharing on this level is a way to let their partner know they are gaining a deeper understanding of their emotional experience, allowing the partner to feel seen and heard. Imago for Individuals Although imago relationship therapy is a model of counseling designed to effectively work with couples in committed relationships, you certainly do not need to be in an active relationship to benefit from imago therapy. In fact, many people who are dating may find this type of therapy very useful for examining their own history and how it might be influencing their dating patterns and choices in partners. By participating in imago therapy by yourself, you can learn what some of your old wounds or emotional raw spots might be that are impacting your relationships. Finding a sense of healing around these raw spots can be valuable in helping you move forward with more confidence and learning how to be a great, compassionate partner in your next relationship. Common Questions How Can I Get Started With Imago Therapy? Two main ways to start learning more about imago therapy and how it can help your relationship include workshops and therapy sessions. There are several varied workshops available, all based on the model of imago therapy. Some of the workshops available are tailored  specifically to: Premarital couplesCouples in distressCouples with childrenChristian couplesSame-sex couplesIndividuals Workshops are offered around the world and it is likely that there are workshops available in your area or region. The other method of participation is in counseling with an imago trained therapist. Sessions are traditionally offered one hour at a time, although there are often additional services available such as intensives that last a few hours or retreats that might last for a few days. Having face to face time with an imago trained therapist allows you and your partner to actively dig into the dynamics of your relationship. During that time you will be using dialogue, facilitated by the therapist, to explore and learn what happens for your partner when there is distress or conflict in the relationship. Actively seeking understanding can increase empathy and create a sense of connection and healing between partners so the same patterns and issues stop coming up time and time again. How Can I Find an Imago Therapist? Many therapists who work with couples have likely had some training inâ€"and basic understanding ofâ€"imago relationship therapy. You can find resources in your area, such as trained and even fully certified imago relationship therapists, at sites such as Imago Relationships International. There you can search a database of trained imago therapists from around the world, searching by your location and type of relationship need. You can also discover locations for a variety of workshops available, which are based on the principles of imago relationship therapy. Are There Times When Imago Therapy Might Not Help? As with other types of relationship therapy, there are times when imago therapy might not be a good fit for your relationship. These times might include situations such as domestic violence, active substance abuse, or other addictive behaviors that can get in the way of a successful relationship therapy experience. Imago therapy may only be effective when issues like this are resolved first.   How Couples Counseling Can Help With Addiction Issues Additional Resources If you are interested in learning about imago relationship therapy but not yet sure if you are interested in attending a workshop or therapy sessions, there are several popular books written by Dr. Hendrix and Dr. Hunt that you can check out, including: Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for CouplesKeeping the Love You Find: A Personal GuideMaking Marriage Simple: 10 Relationship Saving TruthsReceiving Love: Transforming Your Relationship By Letting Yourself Be LovedThe Space Between: The Point of ConnectionThe Happy Couples Secret: How to Build a Lasting, Satisfying Relationship Many of the titles have a workbook version available to help better understand the material and learn how it might apply to your own relationship patterns.