Couples Communications Training
    I am always seeking to sharpen my therapeutic skills by attending ongoing professional
training sessions.  Recently, I attended an Imago therapy workshop entitled “The Seamless Flow”
presented by nationally known Imago consultant Rick Brown.

    This training session started out by reinforcing the basic foundation of Imago therapy as it
relates to my work in marriage counseling.  The foundation of Imago Therapy holds that current
conflicts with one’s partner are rooted in childhood experiences within one’s family.  We all seek to
obtain from our partners the emotional needs that were not met earlier in life.  

    The training continued by providing me with the tools I can use to get troubled couples to
communicate more effectively with each other even in times of stress.  When we get angry or
frustrated with our partner, there is always some feeling of hurt underneath the anger.  It is always
easier for our partner to listen when we are hurt, rather than when we are angry.  We then began a
practice exercise which demonstrated this technique.

    The exercise is called the Container Day exercise, where one partner is “on duty” for the day
and is tasked with mirroring and validating without comment the thoughts of the other for an entire
day.  Partners take turns being “on duty” with this very effective technique which takes the
defensiveness out of the act of listening to one’s partner.  

    This non-defensive listening is a skill that I help couples develop in my marriage counseling
work. It takes time and practice, but in the long term I have seen it pay off many times in the work
that I do with couples.

    Attending training sessions like this one helps me keep my skills fresh and up to date, and I
was very glad that I attended this one.  
Suzanne Corcoran, LCSW-C
Counseling for Couples and Individuals in Rockville, Maryland
Suzanne Y. Corcoran, LCSW-C  1107 Nelson Street,  Suite 202,  Rockville, Maryland 20850  Phone: 301-590-0204
info@suzannecorcoran.com