Canada and The United Kingdon

Sophie Slade, PhD, has been conducting Imago workshops for couples and singles in Canada, the UK and elsewhere for 10 years. She was the first therapist to take Imago to Switzerland, where in 1999 she was invited to present to the psychiatric staff and trainees of the University Hospitals of Geneva. For 6 years, Sophie has worked with The Keepers group to produce a “Toolbox” for Imago therapists based on the Keeping the Love you Find material and to update the Keeping workshop and manual. Dr. Slade says that The Keepers see this workshop as a great entry point to introduce new therapists to Imago and “to help us all deepen our self-awareness with the relational paradigm.” Dr. Slade works in French and English and has had her workshop materials translated into French.

This year, Sophie is opening a new center in Montreal (where she resides) and hopes to bring Imago to some lower-income clients. In particular, she and her husband, David Howarth, plan to take the Spiritual Path Program to church communities whose members would not traditionally seek nor afford private counseling. In September 2005, Sophie will go to Dublin to offer a couples’ workshop and will work with Mary Butler and Maya Kollman to bring Imago training to Ireland.

In addition, Sophie and David facilitate Pedaling On groups, which are monthly follow-up meetings over the course of one year for singles and couples who attended workshops. Dr. Slade cites Harville’s “canoe” metaphor – when you’re in turbulent water it’s time to paddle harder, not jump out of the boat. She explains that the groups help build supportive connections for couples and singles “on the challenging journey of changing their way of being in relationship, and draw on the power of community to hold relationships together.”