Methods in my practice
Schema therapy
Schema therapy works with the deep-seated patterns in thoughts, feelings and behaviour that repeat throughout life. The method was developed by Jeffrey Young in the 1990s for the clients he found did not benefit enough from traditional cognitive behavioural therapy. I use it when the difficulty stems from neglect in childhood.
Where the method comes from
Many who know the therapy see schema therapy as an integrative method that combines elements from cognitive behavioural therapy, object relations theory, gestalt therapy and attachment theory. Jeffrey Young himself would say that it is not integrative but a further development: it does indeed draw on those theories, but it is a form of therapy in its own right.
Schema therapy is about finding and changing the deep-seated patterns or themes in thinking, feeling and behaviour that are called schemas or lifetraps. They have developed because of neglect in childhood that has become embedded in the personality structure.
What is a schema?
A schema is a pervasive pattern or theme that often develops early in life and keeps influencing how you think, feel and behave as an adult. It arises in response to basic needs that were not met in your childhood or youth, and it can lead to unhelpful ways of handling life.
Schemas closely resemble the core beliefs we work with in cognitive therapy. The difference is that a schema contains the core belief, the rules for living that go with it, and the feelings and reactions that are triggered.
How we work with it
We find and change the deep-seated patterns through a combination of techniques. Treatment typically includes these elements:
We understand your childhood
We examine how certain schemas were formed in response to what you experienced as a child.
We name the schemas
You learn to recognise and name the schemas that affect your life today.
We work with your modes
Together we challenge and change the negative thought patterns and the unhelpful behaviour you have when you react in your modes.
We process the feelings
Through schema therapy exercises we work with the feelings and thoughts that arise when a schema is activated, so you can better regulate your feelings in difficult situations.
We find healthier strategies
You learn new and more helpful ways of thinking and reacting to what you are facing.
What are modes?
The word modes is used for your here-and-now reactions when a schema is activated: what you feel, think and do in the situation itself. We examine what triggers them, how they affect you, and how you can react differently, so that the old pattern is no longer in charge.