Who doesn’t need better communication?
In the Imago Dialogue both parties agree to a basic ground rule: to talk one person at-a-time. This gives you a person who is speaking, we say “sending”, and another who is listening, or “receiving." It is when you are in the role of the Receiver that you will be doing the three main steps of Dialogue.
There are 3 main steps to the Imago Dialogue:
• Mirroring
• Validation
• Empathy
Let’s take them one at a time.
The FIRST exercise is put forward by Dr Timothy Wilson, in his book Redirect. According to his research, he finds this writing exercise has more immediate and long-term positive effects than many other kinds of therapeutic interventions.
Five Steps to Unblending. From “Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors” by Janina Fisher
ERP is a type of behavioral therapy that exposes people to situations that provoke their obsessions and the resulting distress while helping them prevent their compulsive responses. The ultimate goal of ERP is to free people from the cycle of obsessions and compulsions o they can live better.
The first part of the light stream technique is to be mindful of what you are experiencing and feeling at that moment. Ask yourself what emotions am I feeling right now, and where do I feel it in my body?
The second step is to imagine that those feelings are an object. The goal is to take the first thing that comes to mind after recognizing the emotions, and location. Mentally ask yourself these questions about the object:
Stage One: Safety, Stabilization, and Overcoming Dysregulation
Parents need to emphasize that their teen doesn’t need to get mental health or substance abuse treatment because they’re getting punished. Rather, they have to go because they need help and their life is unmanageable the way they are currently living. To get this message across accurately, don’t bring up the issue of teen treatment when you’re upset at your child. Stay calm and logical.
You may even be experiencing physical symptoms, such as GI issues, headaches, chronic fatigue, or brain fog.
When experiencing intense negative emotions, it’s not uncommon to feel like “this will never end” or “this will last forever.” It’s not surprising that when in this distressed state of being, one might resort to the use of unhealthy coping mechanisms (like binge eating, use of illicit drugs, self-harm) in an effort to self-soothe.
