Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. was a couple’s therapist with more than 40 years’ experience as an educator, clinical trainer and lecturer whose work has appeared on Oprah 17 times. Harville and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D. are partners in life and work. They believe that how we interact with each other, in all contexts – family, workplace, schools etc. – is the key to our emotional, physical and economic well-being and to the well-being of our children and society. Together, they are committed to the transformation of relationships and to the evolution of a relational culture.

They are the co-creators of Imago Relationship Theory & Therapy, which has spread globally through Imago Relationships International, and now renamed Imago Relationships Worldwide, an organization that has trained over 2,500 therapists in over 53 countries. They are also co-creators, with other relational therapists, scientists, and business professionals, of Relationships First® a non-profit organization that contributes to the creation of a relational culture through the distribution of new insights from the relational sciences, and through Safe Conversations® – a city-wide experiment in Dallas, Texas.

Harville and Helen continue to work with Imago and make it available in workshops, training programs, lectures, seminars and books. They are the authors of three New York Times best sellers (Getting The Love You Want; Keeping The Love You Find; and Giving The Love That Heals), Making Marriage Simple, and six other books. Their The Space Between was released in 2017. Their latest release updated and revised anniversary edition of Getting the Love You Want, which was released in January 2019. They are working on a new professional text on Imago theory and therapy.

Clifton Mitchell Ph.D. is an international clinical trainer and keynote speaker who has a love for teaching and over 30 years of training experience. He delivers practical information in a uniquely entertaining, fast-paced style that is filled with humor and illuminating examples. In his latest book, Priming: Programming the Mind for Habit Change and Success, he teaches a scientifically-based system for partnering with the subconscious to eliminate bad habits and create success-advancing behaviors. He also demonstrates how to use priming to radically intensify therapeutic communications and improve outcomes.
For over 20 years, he has studied and presented seminars on methods for dealing with resistance in therapy. In his book, Effective Techniques for Dealing with Highly Resistant Clients, he presents cutting-edge approaches for managing psychological resistance. He has also trained thousands of mental health professionals in the management of difficult, perplexing legal and ethical issues and his latest training is in an entertaining, dynamic game show format.
He is a contributing author in therapy books and published in numerous professional journals including the Psychotherapy Networker, Psychotherapy in Australia, Journal of Personality Assessment, Perceptual and Motor Skills, Psychology and Education, Journal of Psychological Type, The Professional School Counselor, Sober World, Counselor, Vistas, and The Advocate. His research includes investigations of therapeutic resistance, legal and ethical issues, subliminal message tapes, stress and coping, PMS, and personality types. His ideas and writings have also been published in Men’s Health Today and Barron’s Financial Weekly. Dr. Mitchell is currently a professor Emeritus at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN, where he was awarded Teacher of the Year in 2002.
Description: The successful management of resistance is the pivotal point of effective therapy. It is also a critical component in alleviating therapists’ stress. Although most therapists have been trained extensively in theoretical approaches, few have had extensive training in dealing with resistance. This session will review many aspects of therapeutic resistance including historic definitions and present a model for resistance that empowers therapists in managing the problem. This is followed by fundamental principles and techniques for avoiding and resolving resistance. The techniques presented are applicable across a wide array of clients and problems and can be integrated with all theoretical approaches.

John Arden, PhD, ABPP is the author of 15 books including, Brain2Brain, The Brain Bible, Rewire Your Brain, and Brain-Based Therapy with Adults. His new book is entitled Mind-Brain-Gene: Toward the Integration of Psychotherapy. He recently retired from Kaiser Permanente where he served as the Northern California Regional Director of Training where he developed one of the largest mental health training programs in the United States. In this capacity he oversaw more than 150 interns and postdoctoral psychology residents in 24 medical centers. He has presented in all US States and 28 countries.

Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D., partners in life and work, are the co-creators of Imago Relationship Theory & Therapy and Imago Relationships International which has trained over 2500 therapists in 59 countries. Taking therapy from the clinic to the culture, they created Safe Conversations® a global social movement now in 18 countries.

They are also authors of three New York Times best sellers (Getting The Love You Want; Keeping The Love You Find; and Giving The Love That Heals), Making Marriage Simple, and six other books. Helen is sole author of Faith and Feminism and And the Spirit Moved Them.

Harville is a couple’s therapist educator, clinical trainer and lecturer whose work has been on Oprah 18 times. In addition to Helen’s partnership with her husband in the co- creation of Imago, she has been installed in the Women’s Hall of Fame and the Smithsonian Institute for her leadership in the global women’s movement.

Helen and Harville have been married for over 30 years, have six children, seven grandchildren and reside in Dallas, Texas.