ABSTRACT
Imago Relationship Therapy (IRT) was co-created in the relationship of Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt. Multicultural therapists report the appeal of IRT with various American cultures including African American couples who report liking that they, rather than the therapist, control the session. Imago, the Latin word for image, names the basic premise in IRT, which is that individuals are attracted to persons who have both positive and negative characteristics of their early childhood caretakers—their attraction system. IRT has a conceptual framework that begins before the couple even meets. IRT therapists use this framework to teach skills that help the couple understand how their individual past has affected their present relationship and exacerbate their present power struggles with their partners. Couples learning to understand each other are achieved in IRT through a process called Couples Dialogue. The IRT therapist teaches couples to transform their frustrations into desires so they are more easily heard by the receiving partner.
