Submitted 20.2.2026 by L.B. (80)

female, widow, Austro-Moroccan, inhabitant of Baden-bei-Wien and Casablanca, former conference-interpreter and communication teacher

On 25 January 2026 I participated in the workshop in English and German organized by Doris & Charles in Baden about communication in couples and the Imago couple-dialogue.

I role-played  a conventional husband in the Speaker position, while a participant K. played my wife in the Listener position. The way K. kept “mirroring” back to me my harsh, reproachful words – under Doris and Charles’ guidance eventually had an unexpected effect deep inside myself despite my stubborn repetition of the reproaches that I continued to make to my wife. I suddenly  felt softer at the very last step, even though I was not yet ready to explicitly recognize any part of responsibility in the household problem which had started our argument. Role-playing a dominant male, I could not lose face – but this unexpected softening thanks to being “mirrored” was a big step in the direction of possibly unblocking our argument later on.

Charles’ facilitation of the mirroring exercise allowed me to discover his finely attuned way of intervention, with patience and discreet yet powerful guidance. As an actual couple as well as co-facilitators of this workshop, Doris and Charles have excellent communication between them.

During my extensive, focused exchanges with Doris and Charles for over a year before this workshop about coaching and therapy, I could observe specific skills differentiating them from other couple therapists:

  • long and diversified experience especially in interculturally challenging situations;
  • multilanguage skills (ability to switch easily and rapidly between English, German and French);
  • ongoing research about and openness to new methods;
  • high sensitivity, engagement and fairness (e.g. stopping a therapy which is clearly unproductive);
  • honesty regarding the limits of couple therapy or coaching.

Good therapy has its price. It involves research time, skills, diversified experience and engagement. I know from testimonies about the potential danger of psychotherapy if it is not well mastered. Seriousness as well as a sound and diversified experience are crucial.

K.M. (55) on March 1, 2026

female, Austro-Canadian, ex-engineer, married, English teacher, University lecturer, inhabitant of Gumpoldkirchen

On 25 January 2026 I participated in the workshop organized by Doris & Charles in Baden during which the method of Imago couples therapy was explained and demonstrated.

Charles and Doris were very welcoming hosts, making sure that all participants were comfortable and felt at ease before they started their introduction. I appreciated how the two of them shared many personal milestones: eg how they met and how they came to learn and appreciate the Imago therapy and coaching methods.

At one point there was the possibility to participate in a role-play of a couple doing an Imago Dialogue. I took the role of a wife and had the position of Receiver or Listener; another female participant L.B. played the husband and had the Sender or Speaker position. This was challenging for me because the “husband” was very reproachful and had little or no self-reflection.

Mirroring back everything “he” said, which is the first step of the Imago Dialogue, was at the outset quite hard for me. But with Charles’ and Doris’ moral support and guidance, I was  able to soon calm down my “monkey-brain”, ie my automatic, defensive reactivity, and tune more and more into “his” words and also into his unspoken feelings as I mirrored the words. This was definitely a valuable take-away for me.

Also, after a while “he”, being listened to instead of counter-attacked, said some things which helped put his reproachful behaviour into context and I could better understand why he was so upset and how his TV time – which he resented that his “wife” spoiled – was so important for him as a refuge.

And I too, like L.B. put it in her Review, had a softening and was able to have empathy for “him”. There was not enough time left for me to have a turn as Sender/Speaker while “he” would have been Receiver/Listener and mirrored what I as “wife” had to say, so I felt some frustration at the end but my positive takeaways were worth much more to me than this temporary frustration.

Thank you both for this informative and inspiring workshop.

Review submitted 15.2.2026 by a 30 year old man

divorced, Asiatic origin, inhabitant of Vienna, scientist

I knew Charles and Doris through common interest in hiking and reading, and had the chance to attend their Workshop about couple communication on Jan. 25 in Baden.

In one part of the workshop, Charles and Doris had 2 volunteers sit face to face, knees touching, and demonstrated how they could communicate in a conflict.

What struck me was how emotional but also methodical the “Imago Dialogue” unfolded. One volunteer made a complaint, quite reproachfully, about a household issue, the other listened and just “mirrored” back everything and after each “mirroring” asked the first one if there was more to add, continuously asking this until the first one had nothing more to add.

As I observed this, in my imagination I could sort of foresee a few extra steps, each going a layer deeper than the complaint itself. I let these imagined “extra steps” draw me into a whole eye-opening journey – of which I said nothing during the workshop – that dug through the surface of daily chores toward the unhealed trauma of my own life and the turmoil of my childhood.

I was moved and glad to recontact in myself these difficult, unresolved things of my past, which I usually avoid thinking about; I said nothing of this out loud (I needed to stay alone with it first) but that half-hour might help me to start doing something about them.

I reflected about my failed marriage and my rebellious relationship with my parents, and on how things could have been different if I or my ex-spouse had known how to listen and empathize or how things would have been different if someone like Charles or Doris had been there to guide us.

I recommend their work to anyone, in a couple or not, who wants to learn about some  new ways of talking with someone they’re having trouble with, and to be well guided in these very bold experiments by therapists who have been through it themselves.

I.K. (53) in March 2026

Female, Polish, musician, 23 years of marriage

Jako para pracowaliśmy z dr Hershkowitzem przez 3 lata. Mieliśmy duży problem z komunikacją i porozumiewaniem się bez zbędnych emocji. Podejmowaliśmy wcześniej wiele prób z innymi terapeutami, ale nie mogliśmy wyjść z kryzysu. Dopiero dzięki pracy z doktorem wypracowaliśmy sposoby na prowadzenie dialogu, umiejętność słuchania drugiej strony, pogłębienie empatii i wrażliwości na ,,inność“.

Dr Hershkowitz jest bardzo wrażliwy i uważny na drugiego człowieka. Potrafi bezpiecznie przeprowadzić przez czarne zakamarki ludzkiej duszy.

Z pełnym przekonaniem polecam pracę z tym specjalistą.

TRANSLATION by Deepl.com :

As a couple, we worked with Dr. Hershkowitz for three years. We had a big problem with communication and could not communicate without unnecessary emotions that mess up the result. We had made many attempts with other therapists before, but we couldn’t get out of the crisis.
It was only thanks to working with him that we developed ways to engage in dialogue, the ability to listen to the other side, and deepened our empathy and sensitivity to “otherness.”

Dr. Hershkowitz is very sensitive and attentive to other people. He can safely guide you through the dark corners of the human soul.

I wholeheartedly recommend working with this specialist.

Written for my husband and myself.

Meinung eines Klienten aus Juli 2025

Individual therapy for 4 years with a 35-year old man (married, 2 children; HSP + well-masked high-functioning autistic-spectrum traits; alcoholic father, histrionic mother; job: EU official)

Having tried therapy with various specialists over the years, Dr Hershkowitz was the first therapist who made me felt truly heard and understood. Over a period of several years, Dr Hershkowitz has helped me to process childhood trauma, to significantly reduce my chronic anxiety, and to feel more present and fulfilled in my close relationships.

Dr Hershkowitz’s patient and empathetic approach to therapy has helped me get to the deep root causes of issues I have dealt with for decades. He has an exceptional capacity for listening to (and actually understanding) everything his patients bring to the table, therefrom distilling key elements to work on together.

I very much appreciate his constant willingness to go deep into complex emotional issues, instead of presenting ‘quick fix’ approaches that do not address root causes of problems. Dr Hershkowitz is very good at creating a comfortable and trusted setting for the sessions (both live and online), which allows for deep emotional work to take place.

My continued work with Dr Hershkowitz has allowed me to take away obstacles to living a happier, peaceful and more conscious life.