The History of the Development of Imago Therapy in Russia

Abstract

The article describes the history of the Imago Relationship Therapy establishment in Russia. Imago therapy as an approach for psychotherapeutic work with couples was developed in the 1980s in the United States by spouses Harville Hendricks and Helen LaKelli Hunt. The author of the article first encountered this psychotherapeutic method in 2005 at a conference on conflict resolution, where she met with Rebecca Sears (Imago therapist since 1994, and Faculty member in Imago International Training Institute since 2003) and decided to become her student. Author tells about the first trainings, presentations and master classes in the Imago approach which were held in Russia, as well as about the first books published in Russian. Author explains the roles that were played in the development of Imago in Russia by Rebecca Sears, the Institute of Psychotherapy and Counseling “Harmony”, “The Psychological Newspaper”, Russian psychological communities, “The Peaks of Transactional Analysis” project as well as the author of this article. This article outlines the road that the “Imago-Russia” project has traveled starting from the first trainings to the emergence of certified therapists, workshops presenters for couples, supervisors and teachers of the Imago approach.