Question 1

How is relationship coaching different from couples therapy?

Accepted Answer

In traditional therapy, couples tend to face the therapist and discuss with the therapist their issues. In this traditional model, therapist also plays an active role in making suggestions and proposing solutions. 
 
Our Relationship Coaching model is based on the principles of Imago Therapy. In this model, the couple faces each other and engages in a meaningful dialogue in which the Coach/Facilitator plays a more passive role as a guide, so that the couple could experience themselves genuinely connecting to each other and practicing overcoming their specific communication barriers.

Question 2

What makes relationship coaching so effective?

Accepted Answer

Our relationship coaching is based on foundational principle that effective couples work cannot take place until safety is established.
 
Establishing safety is a delicate process, as individuals bring to their relationships various traumas and wounds.
 
Therefore, major contributor to our success is the fact that significant time and energy is given to establishing safety. When this is done successfully, the technical issues within the relationship can be addressed in a more effective and meaningful way.

Question 3

Can a person do individual work to effect change in a relationship, or must this work be done with a spouse/partner?"

Accepted Answer

Many of our clients find themselves in the following predicament: one person is really excited about doing this work, while their spouse/partner is not interested or too scared to go into vulnerable places.
 
Work on oneself is an absolutely essential piece of the relationship puzzle, and therefore is always encouraged, even if the spouse/partner is not going to participate.
 
Having said that, doing work as a couple, ultimately leads to the deepest encounters with oneself and one's spouse/partner. For this reason, our model falls into the relational therapy category.

Question 4

How does our work apply in the Parent-Child context?

Accepted Answer

Imago Therapy embraces a concept called "Childhood Wounds."
 
You see, if we really believe that no one is perfect, then we must also accept that our parents are not perfect caretakers, and by extension, neither are we. If our parents are not perfect, then they did not raise us perfectly.
 
For our purposes what that means is that some of us received too much attention, thus the nomenclature "Helicopter Parents"; while some of us did not receive enough attention and live with a feeling of abandonment.
 
No matter where we are on this spectrum, one thing is certain: we carry these childhood wounds with us into our adult lives. These wounds subconsciously affect and inform our decisions, especially personal, life-defining decisions. In order to live a full and vibrant life in which one experiences one self as an informed decision maker, then these wounds must be brought into one's conscious awareness and then healed.
 
Parent-Child dialogue allows for this journey to unfold and for deep healing to take place.

Question 5

Can I heal my wounds if my parent/primary-caretaker is not alive or not available?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely.
 
This work can be done in individual session with a Relationship Coach; it can also be done with one's spouse/partner. The goal is to identify the childhood wounds, create space for these wounds to "come to life" in our consciousness, and then create safe space for these wounds to experience healing.

Zoom sessions available.