New Research Begins on Imago Therapy     Over the past two decades, Imago Relationship Therapy has become a worldwide leader in the field of marriage counseling, with over 1,000 Certified Imago Therapists helping couples in over 25 countries. Now, the practice of Imago therapy is about to take another big leap forward, as a group of researchers plans to study Imago's effectiveness through quantitative research with couples across the United States.   The goal of the research is to establish Imago as an evidence-based practice. In the field of mental health, evidence-based practices are those that have demonstrated, through clinical trials, their effectiveness in helping people. “The managed care movement has spawned an atmosphere of outcomes and assessments. We can no longer say any therapy works just because we see what seems like improvement. We have to empirically validate what we do,” says Wade Luquet, Ph.D, an Imago therapist and Associate Professor of Sociology and Human Services at Gwnedd-Mercy College.   In August, the Imago Relationships International (IRI) research team met on Orcas Island, WA at the home of relationship researchers Drs. John and Julie Gottman to consult about upcoming research projects. “As we move towards establishing Imago as an evidenced-based practice, it’s invaluable to us to learn from the Gottmans and their experience conducting their own research,” says Imago Center DC’s Nathan Gehlert, Ph.D., who participated in the meeting. Gehlert is in initial stages of planning a study of Imago therapy at The Imago Center of DC. He is also collaborating with the Imago research team and principal investigator Theresa Beeton-Clark, Ph.D., on another clinical trial involving Imago faculty.   The collaboration between IRI and other leading relationship clinicians and researchers began in 2010, when Imago co-founder Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. and his wife Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D. hosted the Gottmans, Dan Siegal, M.D., Marion Solomon, Ph.D., Drs. Ellyn Bader and Peter Pearson, Michele Weiner-Davis, M.S.W., Jeffrey Zeig, Ph.D., Lilian Borges Zeig, Ph.D., Sue Johnson, Ph.D., and Jette and Rich Simon, Ph.D., for a weekend at their home.   According to Hendrix, “the invitation was to explore how we might collaborate and extend our therapy systems into a couples' education project that might become a movement at the national and global level.” After two more meetings, the group has informally become the Couples Education Think Tank (CETT). “We have clarified that our mission is to impact cultural consciousness with the fact that healthy couples are indispensable for a healthy society so that supporting healthy couples becomes a primary cultural value,” says Hendrix. Part of CETT’s goal in supporting couples is to become a repository of scientific information on relationships and perhaps vet programs that have proven effectiveness.   “Harville and John and Julie share the primary vision of helping couples,” says Gehlert. “That is more important than enrolling couples in their own workshops or selling more of their books.”   To Tani Strain, M.A., chair of the Imago Research Planning Committee, the future seems bright for research into the clinical effectiveness of Imago therapy. “I see the strengths of our research team as a number of people with a common passion to research Imago, who bring many skill sets to the process. I see a future of possibilities,” she says.

BLOG CENTRAL Our blog page is loaded with great relationship tips. This month, we introduce a Relationship Rules to Break series, where we explain why much of the advice out there is actually bad information. Here, a few highlights:   You may have heard the following adages: "relationships should always be exciting"; one should "avoid arguing in front of the kids"; and "never go to bed angry." Lena Aburdene, Stacy Notaras Murphy and Nathan Gehlert explain why it's time to say goodbye to these myths.   Read more Relationship Rules to Break. Check back each Tuesday over the coming weeks to see more rules and why you should break them. You can also follow us on Facebook to get our latest articles directly in your newsfeed.

NEWS & NOTES Robert Gordon will launch a bi-weekly Deep Vocation Group on Tuesday, October 11, from 7:30-9:00pm in our Takoma Park office. This group offers an evidence-based model of coaching, emotional support, and practical guidance. Deep Vocation is open to everyone, from midlife professionals seeking more meaningful work to moms striving to balance parenthood with starting a business. Contact Robert at 301-221-1861. Cindy Bare and Kevin Berrill will lead the next Start Right/Stay Connected premarital workshop on Saturday, October 29 from 9:00am-5:30pm. For registration information, click here. For more information or to enroll, email or call Cindy at 202-596-9290. Mom Matters, a psychotherapy group for mothers, is accepting members. The 12-week group meets on Wednesdays, beginning Nov. 2, from 9:30-10:50am at All Saints Episcopal Church in Chevy Chase, MD, and will be co-facilitated by Caroline Bernhardt-Lanier and Anne Erickson. The group is for mothers who are struggling with stress, anxiety or depression and want to discover new confidence, balance, and self-care tools in a confidential and supportive setting. For information, contact Caroline at 202-449-3789 x712 or email her. Single in the City, a support group for unmarried women in their twenties and thirties, is accepting members. The group will meet Wednesday evenings from 7:30-8:50pm in our Capitol Hill office and be co-facilitated by Lena Aburdene and Nathan Gehlert. For information, contact Lena at 202-449-3789, x704 or email her. The Art of Relationships, a coed therapy group for people who want to create more fulfilling relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and or/romantic partners, is accepting members. For more information, or to schedule a free initial consultation, please contact Nathan Gehlert at 202-449-3789 x716 or email him. Rebecca Sears will join Harville Hendrix on Oct. 7-8 in presenting Flexible Access Clinical Training, a 2-day introduction to Imago, at Loyola University in Columbia, MD. Contact Loyola's Monique Daniels for more information at 410-617-7608 or mcdaniels@loyola.edu. Later this month, Rebecca will speak at the 8th Annual Imago International Conference in Elsinore, Denmark, October 20-22. Stacy Notaras Murphy attended the Gifts of Buddhist & Western Psychology conference with teachers Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, and Mark Epstein on September 17 in Washington, DC. Ginny Graham recently began a year-long training towards certification in Accelerated Experiential-Dynamic Psychotherapy, a transformation-based, healing-oriented model of therapy developed by Dr. Diana Fosha, author of The Transforming Power of Affect. Joanne Comstock is taking a course in animal-assisted therapy at the University of Texas, so that she can use her labradoodle Emma in sessions with adolescent clients. There is a substantial body of research regarding the benefits of using dogs with depressed and anxious clients.   Beret Moyer is attending a six-week webinar called The Great Attachment Debate, covering attachment patterns in couples' relationships, attachment theory in action with the attuned therapist, the links between attachment style and psychopathology, and why some believe that an overemphasis on attachment can actually damage effective therapy.

The Pastoral Counseling and Consultation Center of Greater Washington
7003 Piney Branch Road, NW | Washington DC, 20012
7 Convenient Locations in DC Metro Area
www.pastoralcounselingdc.com | 202-449-3789