Most Imago therapists can teach the Dialogue structure. Couples still leave the session and blow up. This taster names the real culprit: the field. A technically correct mirror delivered with contempt increases danger. An imperfect mirror delivered with warmth increases safety. Content is not the therapy — the Space-Between is.
In this session you’ll learn to spot micro-ruptures in the field, shift from coaching content to tending safety, and treat Zero Negativity and intentionality as field hygiene rather than optional add-ons. Come for the reframe. Stay for the keynote and two-day workshop, where we train repair speed and field mastery under heat.
with Hayley Hoffman
Welcome to our monthly presentation. Hayley Hoffman will be giving you a taster of what is to come in the Polyvagal Informed Imago Relationship pre-conference workshop.
Please note that this presentation will be held at 8am on the 13 April to accommodate the time zone of Hayley Hoffman who lives in Washington.
More information can be found at Polyvagal Informed Imago Relationship Workshop – Imago Relationship Therapy Australia (AIRTA)
WITH FACULTY MEMBER:
Michelle Bohls
Harville and Helen’s 2019 book, Doing Imago Relationship Therapy in the Space-Between articulated their decades of thought and experimentation with Imago Clinical practices and workshops. Michelle Bohls will unpack the Relational Paradigm in a dialogical exploration. Learn some key terms like Symbiotic Illusion, Complementarity and Reflective Consciousness.
Based on the success of Lea’s first session on the power of Self-regulation through the lens of Internal Family Systems (IFS), we will continue to delve deeper into this system. Together, we will continue to discover how we can meet activated parts with compassion and curiosity—and from there, return to the relational space with greater presence, clarity and calm.
This introductory seminar is especially designed for Imago Therapists and Imago Professional Facilitators who wish to deepen their capacity for holding connection – starting from within.
Lea Simone Bogner is a psychological counselor and coach, Imago Professional Facilitator, Consultant, as well as President of the Imago Society Austria. She is also trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and works with both individuals and couples.
In her work with organizations, she focuses on self-leadership and communication. With warmth and clarity, she supports people and
professionals in developing presence, trust, resilience, and authentic connection in both personal and professional relationships.
Maureen will be talking about the training that she is running on the 10 November.
This is an hour and a half talk on the workshop – an opportunity to find out what you can look forward to in this workshop. You will have the opportunity to ask questions about the training. Free for members and $20 for non-members.
Join us for a powerful day of consultation and consolidation, designed especially for Imago therapists who are interested in deepening their clinical skills with trauma-informed approaches.
In this interactive online session, you’ll explore the power of Self-regulation through the lens of Internal Family Systems (IFS). Together, we’ll gently turn inward to discover how we can meet activated parts with compassion and curiosity—and from there, return to
the relational space with greater presence, clarity and calm.
This introductory seminar is especially designed for Imago Therapists and Imago Professional Facilitators who wish to deepen their capacity for holding connection – starting from within.
Lea Simone Bogner is a psychological counselor and coach, Imago Professional Facilitator, Consultant, as well as President of the Imago Society Austria. She is also trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and works with both individuals and couples.
In her work with organizations, she focuses on self-leadership and communication. With warmth and clarity, she supports people and
professionals in developing presence, trust, resilience, and authentic connection in both personal and professional relationships.
We are incredibly fortunate to have Sophie Slade present to us on Intimacy. Sophie is an internationally renowned presenter, a senior faculty member of Imago and author of the forthcoming book Satisfying Sex for Committed Couples. Sophie brings decades of expertise in helping individuals and couples deepen their emotional and physical connection.
She facilitates transformative workshops across the globe, including Getting the Love You Want, Keeping the Love You Find, and Increasing Intimacy for Committed Couples.
Most recently, Sophie led the Increasing Intimacy for Committed Couples workshop in Sydney. The event was well attended, and participants reported experiencing meaningful shifts in their relationships.
Regarding this presentation, Sophie states:
“Many couples, as well as Imago therapists and facilitators, have difficulty talking about sex in ways that enhance the erotic charge rather than focusing on sexual problems or challenges. In this presentation, I will share some ideas and tools to help you help your couples bring the joy and pleasure of sex back into the erotic space between.
A mother’s gaze is the first mirror a child looks into. If that mirror is cracked or clouded, the reflection can take a lifetime to repair.”
This presentation explores the profound impact of early caregiving relationships—not only on personal relationships but on the internalized and limiting beliefs that continue to shape a person’s emotional landscape. This internal “mother” influences how individuals nurture themselves, set boundaries, and care for others, often mirroring the caregiving they received in childhood.
This presentation will provide clinicians with insights and interventions to assist clients who have had demanding, intrusive, critical, or neglectful caregivers and who continue to seek repair from those early experiences. Healing the “mother wound” includes developing a wise, soulful, and nurturing relationship with oneself—one that fosters true self-acceptance, resilience, and the freedom to be fully alive.
This journey is more than interpersonal—it is an internal one as well. Clients are not merely reflections of their past, their circumstances, or how they were treated. Their healing is shaped by how they learn to see themselves—particularly as they develop the ability to look at themselves with compassion. Supporting this shift allows clients to embrace a more authentic, whole, and empowered sense of self.
This presentation s related to Kobus van der Merwe’s presentation on ‘Connecting the couple when one partner is reluctant‘. The presenter of The Ambivalent Couple is Carol-Anne Dixon, who has recently completed her Doctorate on Aging. Carol-Anne obtained her MA in Counselling Psychology and has been using Imago with couples, individuals and families for over 20 years. Her accreditations include a certified Imago Relationship Therapist, Workshop Presenter and Health and Care Professions Council UK. She has also served on the Board of Focus on the Family Africa, Imago Africa and is currently on the Board of Imago Relationships Worldwide. In addition to Imago, Carol-Anne has also had extensive training in EcCT (Encounter-centred Couples Therapy) and offers Supervision as well as training in Relational Ethics.
This presentation will be run by our wonderful, Kobus van der Merwe. Kobus is “..a distinguished Imago International Faculty Member and certified Imago Relationship Therapist based in South Africa. With a deep commitment to enhancing relational dynamics, Kobus has dedicated his career to Imago Relationship Therapy, offering his expertise to therapists and clients across the globe. His work has been recognized with the prestigious Harville Hendrix Award for Clinical Excellence, underscoring his impact in the field. Kobus’s journey began in theology, transitioned through family therapy, and culminated in a profound dedication to Imago Therapy, where he has trained numerous therapists and facilitated countless workshops worldwide.” About Us – Imago Relationship Kobus van der Merwe
Kobus will be talking on an issue that I am sure that we have all had in our couples therapy. That is when one partner is not sure whether they want to be in the relationship and are cut off, angry, etc. How does one manage to get the couple to connect and address their issues in this scenario.
This presentation will be a mini-training session with Renee Voice on how to use our new website. This will include logging into the Members section of the website with your login and password that Renee will send to you prior to the session. It is important that you send Renee a password set request to airta.general@gmail.com so that she can create them for you prior to the meeting. She will then be available to answer any questions that you may have. She will also show you how to add content to the website so that you can share your valuable knowledge not only with your fellow members and colleagues but also the general public, A great way of advertising for you!
Join us on Monday 2 December for a viewing of the above podcast with Dan Harris. There will be time to discuss each section in tryads.
Most people have some difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions. Being able to identify and name emotions is valuable for everyone as well as coaching this is an important part of our work.
Brené shares “…..we know very little about emotions, and we have very little language with which to describe them…. probably a decade ago or so, we were running the curriculum based on our shame resilience research, and we asked people to write a list of every emotion they felt comfortable with and able to identify while they are experiencing it. The mean or average was 3. Happy, sad and pissed off –
I can tell when I’m happy, I can tell when I’m sad, I can tell when I’m really pissed off.
She could not get over it because the human experience is so vast and complex and asked – What does it mean if we have to shove everything we experience into one of these three buckets,…. like what I’m really experiencing is resentment or anguish or awe or wonder, or love. And I have to just say I’m happy. I’m sad…..
She decided to put together a glossary of the emotions and through her research distilled it down to 87 key emotions and experiences that she presents in her wonderful book “Atlas of the Heart”- Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience.
She shares that she also learned that she had been misusing language and that she had a profound misunderstanding of several of the emotions….
There will be opportunity for discussion between the sections of her presentation/interview.
Here’s the link if you want to have a listen before we meet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJAD4QXwLhQ
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