{"id":7339,"date":"2021-02-09T08:38:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T06:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imagoafrica.co.za\/?p=7339"},"modified":"2021-05-12T10:53:40","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T08:53:40","slug":"love-letter-from-the-chair-february-2021-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imagoafrica.co.za\/for-professionals\/love-letter-from-the-chair-february-2021-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Love letter from the chair February 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

BREATHE AND FOCUS<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

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Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow, Arch Rock, Keurboomstrand, Western Cape, SA<\/p><\/div>\n

Do you remember way back in 1999, when the world faced the \u201cY2K\u201d threat? It was during that time when I was doing my internship at a counseling center in St. Louis, Missouri.\u00a0 We were flooded with clients who feared the end of the world. I remember vividly how I looked ahead toward 2020, which at that time seemed so very far away.\u00a0 I could not then have fathomed 2020 arriving AND living through it!\u00a0 Yet, here we are in the early days of 2021 and there is again still so much turmoil, chaos, and the threat of this global pandemic.\u00a0 It almost feels like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu.\u00a0 Truth is, life goes on.\u00a0 We, in our human resilient adaptability still live.\u00a0 As long as we wake up every morning, it is a new day, with a new beginning and new opportunities to make different choices than what we made the day before.<\/p>\n

This introduction is inspired by these photographs.\u00a0 Both brought me comfort and hope for the future.\u00a0 No matter what happens in the world, in our communities, and in our personal lives, there are some things that are constant.\u00a0 During my mini vacation, I sat for hours watching the rhythmic waves and tides come and go. They have been doing this from the beginning of time and will continue long after we are gone.\u00a0 (The same is true for the rock standing through wind and wave.\u00a0 It reminds me of the human brain when we focus on our breathing.\u00a0 Breathing in\u2026. and breathing out\u2026.\u00a0 The brain knows that after breathing in, comes breathing out and after breathing out, comes breathing in\u2026 The sheer predictability bringing grounded calmness. So, we too teach our clients to focus on their breathing.\u00a0 For me, this micro rhythm of the brain connects with the macro rhythm of the waves of the ocean, it is predictable and grounding.<\/p>\n

This year I will breathe and focus.\u00a0 I invite you to do the same.\u00a0 Let us live this year by focusing on our own choices, what we can take responsibility for (even though it seems the world is in chaos and seemingly falling apart), and commit to an intention to thrive.<\/p>\n

The very first week of this year, I had the privilege of sharing a two-day journey with a couple.\u00a0 The impact of the work we do, never fails to amaze me.\u00a0 Together with the couple, their commitment to show up and do the work, and my commitment to holding the space for them, changed the space.\u00a0 We as Imago Practitioners can continue to focus on what we CAN do, focus on living our truth, focus on our integrity, focus on our contribution to the space between whether it be in our personal lives, professional lives, virtual platforms or any human interaction.<\/p>\n

Therefore, I choose this year to thrive, to live in celebrating our differences, enjoying these differences, and embracing the story that each person carries.\u00a0 In doing so, remembering to breathe, knowing that the tidal waves ebb and flow, and knowing that my brain knows to breathe in and out.\u00a0 All I need to do is focus because life is going to happen.<\/p>\n

I leave you with this quote from James Hollis:\u00a0\u201c<\/em>To become a person does not necessarily mean to be well adjusted, well adapted, approved of by others.\u00a0 It means to become who you are.\u00a0 We are meant to become more eccentric, more peculiar, more odd.\u00a0 We are not meant just to fit in.\u00a0 We are here to be different.\u00a0 We are here to be the individual\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

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News<\/strong>\u00a0& Announcements<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Imago Research<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Our colleagues, Estelle Bailey (Namibia), Thea Smith, and Edelwiess Bester Scheepers, have bravely enrolled themselves for a Ph.D. at Daybreak University in Los Angeles and their main focus is Imago relationship Therapy. I am sure that you will all agree that it is of the utmost importance that Imago becomes evidence-based.\u00a0 We wholeheartedly support this endeavor.\u00a0 To have an effective study, they need at least 80 couples:<\/p>\n

The invitation is for all Imago therapists, to be part of new and exciting research that is\u00a0being done in the field of Imago Relationship Therapy.\u00a0 Their target population will be individuals in a committed relationship with Depression accessing Imago Therapy. In short, this research will look at the effect of IRT on Depression and:<\/p>\n