Goodbye 2024, hello 2025. It’s the perfect time to reflect on your most important relationship—your partnership. Relationships, like individuals, are made up of many “parts.” In Resource Therapy, we understand that each of us brings a collection of inner resources to the table, shaping how we love, connect, and respond to our partners.
But there’s another lens to consider: Imago Relationship Therapy. Imago helps us understand that the dynamics of our adult relationships are deeply influenced by the unmet needs and wounds of our childhood. These influences often determine which “parts” show up in our relationships—both the parts that nurture connection and the ones that may create distance or conflict.
By combining the insights of Resource Therapy and Imago, we can reflect on the interplay between our inner parts and the unconscious patterns that drive our interactions. This reflection allows us to deepen understanding, celebrate growth, and address areas where we long for greater connection or healing.
Here are 11 prompts to guide you and your partner in reflecting on your relationship this year.
1. Celebrate Your Wins as a Couple
What’s one thing you achieved together this year that made your relationship stronger?
- Resource Therapy Insight: Which parts of each of you stepped forward to create this success—perhaps a collaborative or supportive part?
- Imago Perspective: How did this achievement meet a need that stems from your childhood experiences?
2. A Moment You Felt Deeply Connected
When did you feel most aligned with your partner this year?
- Resource Therapy Insight: What part of you stepped forward to enjoy or strengthen that moment?
- Imago Perspective: How did that moment reflect a shared healing of unmet childhood needs?
3. How You Navigated a Challenge Together
What was a difficult moment or challenge you faced as a couple, and how did you get through it?
- Resource Therapy Insight: Which parts of each of you supported resilience or contributed to tension?
- Imago Perspective: How might this challenge have triggered old wounds, and how did you work together to repair and reconnect?
4. When Your Protective Parts Stepped In
Reflect on a time when your protective parts (e.g., defensiveness, withdrawal) showed up in your relationship.
- Resource Therapy Insight: How did those parts affect your connection, and what might they have needed?
- Imago Perspective: How do these protective behaviours link back to childhood survival patterns, and what understanding can you offer each other?
5. A Vulnerable Moment You Shared
When did you allow a vulnerable part of you to open up to your partner?
- Resource Therapy Insight: How did your partner’s response impact that vulnerable part of you?
- Imago Perspective: How did this moment create safety and healing in the relationship, and how can you continue to foster it?
6. How You Supported Each Other
What’s one way you showed up for your partner when they needed you?
- Resource Therapy Insight: Which nurturing or compassionate parts of you stepped forward?
- Imago Perspective: How did this act of support help meet a need your partner may have carried since childhood?
7. A Relationship Habit You Improved
What’s one habit or dynamic in your relationship that improved this year?
- Resource Therapy Insight: Which parts of each of you contributed to making this change possible?
- Imago Perspective: How did this shift address a recurring pattern or unmet need rooted in early relational experiences?
8. Where You Could Grow Together
What’s one area in your relationship where a part of you feels stuck or resistant?
- Resource Therapy Insight: How can you work with these parts to support growth in the year ahead?
- Imago Perspective: How might this area of resistance reflect a deeper unmet need for love, to be seen, heard or acknowledged, or fear that originated in childhood?
9. A Moment of Playfulness
When did your playful parts shine as a couple this year?
- Resource Therapy Insight: How did those moments bring joy and lightness to your connection and what part of you was out on deck?
- Imago Perspective: How do playful interactions help heal past wounds and create new, joyful experiences together?
10. The Role of Your Inner Critic
Reflect on a time when your inner critic or perfectionist part influenced how you interacted with your partner.
- Resource Therapy Insight: How could you respond differently to this part in the future? Ask it what it needs…
- Imago Perspective: How might this critical voice be tied to messages you internalised in childhood, and how can you offer yourself (and your partner) more compassion?
11. A Vision for Your Relationship in 2025
What’s one goal or dream a hopeful or inspired part of you has for your relationship in the year ahead?
- Resource Therapy Insight: How can you nurture that vision together, encouraging the parts of you that want connection and growth?
- Imago Perspective: How does this dream create opportunities for both of you to feel truly seen, valued, and safe?
Why Reflecting on Your Relationship Matters
Taking time to reflect on your relationship allows you to better understand how your inner world intersects with your partner’s. By recognising which parts of yourself and your partner have been most active this year—and exploring the unconscious patterns that drive your dynamics—you can create a deeper, more intentional connection.
These prompts are great for journaling, discussing during a quiet moment together, or even exploring in a therapy session. You don’t have to rush through all 11—just pick the ones that resonate and let them guide you.
Here’s to a new year filled with deeper connection, healing, and joy in your relationship! If these reflections sparked insight for you, I’d love to hear about it. Let’s keep building love that lasts. 💕
With Love, and Light,
Philipa