Schema-Based Therapy

overview

If what you’re struggling with has a longer history, feels entrenched and has a habit of repeating despite repeated efforts to change the script, schema-based therapy tends to be really helpful.

Schema Therapy suggests that ‘schemas’ - the ways we understand and relate to the world which keep us really stuck as adults - derive from ways of coping we learned when we were quite young. Except that the people and situations they evolved to protect us from have changed and so they tend to be more destructive than helpful.

This can lead to relationship issues, psychosexual problems, addiction, excessive worry or pessimism, clinical perfectionism, social anxiety, low self-esteem and punishing inner criticism, to name but a few of the things clients bring to the therapy room.

WHAT HAPPENS IN SCHEMA-BASED THERAPY?

A schema-based approach draws on one or more of the following elements of Schema Therapy:

Cognitive Techniques We link presenting issues with their childhood origins and foster supportive self-talk that builds a logical, rational case against the schemas that is kinder, wiser and more objective.

Experiential Work We move from realising intellectually that our schemas are false to believing this emotionally. Chairwork, role play, imagery rescripting and visualisation can help us work at this deeper level to confront figures from the past, hand back the baggage they’ve bestowed on us, and heal core wounds.

Behavioural Pattern Breaking We capitalise on the time between sessions to experiment with new ways of being in the world. Schema-driven patterns of behaviour are replaced with healthier coping styles that foster self-care, compassion and growth.

is it right for me?

Schema-based therapy is helpful for people with entrenched habits, behaviours, relational patterns and negative self-beliefs, that feel as stuck as they are destructive. This more directive, structured form of therapy may also be helpful for people who struggle with conventional counselling, particularly those whose early life was characterised by absent parents, emotional neglect, lack of boundaries or insufficient guidance, or you have a very harsh inner critic or a ‘protector’ side that runs the show.

WHAT’S THE NEXT STEP?

If my approach resonates with you, why not schedule a free 20-minute telephone conversation so we can discuss your needs? If it feels right, we can schedule a 60-minute assessment session where I’ll take a history and get a better sense of you and your life as a whole so we can figure out the best way to work together. Then we can schedule a regular time to meet, usually once a week for 50 minutes for as long as is beneficial for you