7 Pillars of a Strong Relationship
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Common Traits in Happy Couples

Researchers for the British wedding-planning Web site confetti.co.uk have compiled a list the “vital ingredients” for lasting love. They surveyed 3,000 married people and discovered some common traits in happy couples:

These are the common traits for couples before marriage:

  • They met through friends
  • Married after three-and-a-half years of courtship
  • Married at age 31 for the groom and age 29 for the bride

These are the common traits for happy couples after marriage:

  • Say the L-word at least once a day
  • Keep the spark alive with three calls, e-mails or texts during each workday
  • Kiss four times per day
  • Spend three nights per week cuddling on the sofa
  • Waited two years and two months before starting a family
  • Take two romantic meals out each month
  • Have sex three or more times per week
  • Have two separate nights out with friends per month
  • Take two weekends away per year

So, why are we sharing this with you? We thought it might be a way of you making a personal assessment of how you are relating to your beloved on a regular basis. You may find places where you can improve and places where you’re already doing OK. In reality, all of us can stand a bit of improvement in some area(s).

What is Imago Relationship Therapy?

Imago Relationship TherapyImago is a form of marriage and couple’s counseling developed by Dr. Harville Hendrix and his wife, Dr. Helen LaKelly Hunt. They incorporated and expanded upon the best of all the best counseling approaches into Imago Relationship Therapy. By doing so, they created what many consider the most effective processes available to help couples significantly improve their relationships and restore more loving connections.

People often ask us “what is imago counseling?” Most aren’t sure how to pronounce it. It’s pronounced “ee maa go.”

Imago counseling answers three fundamental questions. (1) Why do we consciously and unconsciously chose the partners we do? (2) Why do we get stuck in our relationship problems? (3) How can we get unstuck? The counseling is a two part process–understanding what’s really going on beneath the surface of our relationship problems and learning very specific relationship skills/tools to help you resolve them.

Imago counseling has enabled us to help couples to heal, grow and create a life together that they didn’t believe possible. Other couples made their relationships even better and engaged couples learned the skills needed to insure a happy marriage.

Imago Relationship Therapy can be experienced in two ways. You can find a qualified Imago therapists who offers marriage counseling.  You can also attend Imago Couples Weekend Workshops for intensive therapy in a safe, discreet group setting.

What Can an Imago Weekend Workshop Do For Your Marriage?

Imago Weekend WorkshopsMore than you think. We have been conducting the Imago Weekend Workshops in the Michigan area for over twelve years. We have seen lives completely transformed over the weekend. Participants have included long term and recently married couples, cohabitating couples, partners, dating couples, and engaged couples. Regardless of relationship status, all have benefited tremendously.

The workshop is based upon Imago Relationship Therapy developed by Drs. Harville Hendrix and his wife Helen LaKelly Hunt. There are three reasons why an Imago Weekend Workshop can be of help. The workshop answers these questions for people in all committed relationships—married or not:

Why Do We Choose To Marry The People We Do?

It is not a twist of fate that we choose the people we do. Our selection of the specific mate we choose has a purpose. And if you want to have a successful relationship, it’s essential that you know what that is.

Why Do We Often Get Stuck In Our Marriages/Relationships?

After having such a wonderful romantic stage in the beginning of our relationships, couples tend to have arguments, conflicts, and ongoing disagreements. Why? The workshop answers this question in moving to the third question, which is

How Can We Get Unstuck?

The workshop focuses on teaching communication skills, understanding ourselves and our partners better, how to get what you want most from each other, the specific things essential to a mutually fulfilling long term relationship, and creating a joint vision for your future together.

Even those couples nearing divorce have turned things around beyond anything they thought possible. If you would like to experience the positive impact that imago therapy can have on your relationship, we invite you to take advantage of an Imago Weekend Workshop.