Connected Parents, Thriving Kids

I work with parents using the highly intuitive and effective Imago Parenting method. The tools and insights that come from learning this approach aretransforming my relationships with my own children, and I know it can help yours, too (and here's a great book to get you started).

Do you understand your children?

Most parents long for their children to have as full and rewarding a life as possible. It's great to see children enjoy themselves. It's deeply rewarding to see them discover a path to a fulfilling life.

But when children behave in ways that seem to put their happiness at risk, how can you know what is really going on? It's hard to respond effectively and lovingly if you don't know what lies behind their behavior, especially if what they are doing right now is challenging you!

How can you avoid meltdowns or withdrawl?

Children can have some dramatic ways of expressing their frustrations, from making a lot of noise to making none at all. Neither way is easy to deal with, especially when it seems directed at you.

There are some good approaches for parents, like boundary setting or perhaps giving them a little freedom. But how do you know which to use? The secret is to learn to accurately read what is going on for them. I can teach you how to bridge the communication gap so you can provide the guidance they need.

What do your children need from you right now?

From the moment they were born, your children’s minds have been forming in a way that will strongly influence their whole lives. What they experience in their relationships now is critical. I can help you make the best choices, by understanding the stages of their emotional development, and recognizing how to respond with the love that will enable them to reach their full potential.

Tune-in to your child

Imago provides a practical way to understand what your children are trying to say to you through their behavior. We teach you how to listen to their underlying message. That will leave your children feeling good about being heard.

As you become more tuned-in to your children’s underlying experiences, you will be able to respond to them in a way that they can easily understand and respect.

Part of the art of listening to your children is being aware that much of our own emotional reaction is rooted in our own childhood and life experiences. This awareness will enable you to be even better at tuning-in to your child. Experiences that might have been frustrating before can now become opportunities for connection.

This parenting approach adapts the same Imago Dialogue process that lies at the heart of Imago’s world-leading programs for couples and applies it to the practical situations that occur with children. By reducing flare-ups and emotional outbursts, relationships become more fun, and you will have more opportunity to simply enjoy being with your children.

Learning starts at home

The Connected Parents, Thriving Kids approach:

• Shows how to be a more effective and responsive parent, in-tune with what your children need from you

• Delivered by a trained Imago therapist

• Incorporates Imago Relationship Theory, with insights from that latest research into neuroscience and child development

Imago helps couples and families strengthen relationships

Imago has been helping couples strengthen their relationships for 30 years. It was founded by Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D., who together wrote Giving the Love that Heals: A Guide for Parents, which is a sequel to the classic couples’ guide, Getting the Love You Want. There are now more than 1,000 certified Imago Couples Therapists working in more than 25 countries.