Schema Therapy

Changing Lifelong Patterns

Some difficulties keep repeating despite our best efforts - the same relationship problems, the same self-defeating patterns, the same feelings of emptiness or inadequacy. Schema Therapy was developed for these persistent, deep-rooted patterns that standard approaches often don’t fully reach.

What Are Schemas?

Schemas are broad, pervasive themes or patterns about yourself, others, and the world that develop in childhood and continue to shape your experiences throughout life. They’re like lenses that filter how you perceive and interpret everything that happens.

Early experiences - particularly with caregivers - create templates for how we expect relationships and life to work. If those early experiences involved criticism, neglect, unpredictability, or lack of warmth, the schemas that develop can continue to cause difficulties decades later.

Common maladaptive schemas include:

• Abandonment: Expecting that people you depend on will leave
• Defectiveness: Feeling fundamentally flawed, unlovable, or inferior
• Failure: Believing you’re inadequate and will inevitably fail
• Emotional deprivation: Expecting that your emotional needs won’t be met
• Subjugation: Surrendering control to others to avoid conflict or rejection
• Unrelenting standards: Striving to meet impossibly high standards
• Insufficient self-control: Difficulty tolerating frustration or regulating emotions

How Schema Therapy Works

Schema Therapy integrates elements from cognitive-behavioural therapy, attachment theory, psychodynamic approaches, and experiential techniques. It works on multiple levels:

Cognitive: Identifying schemas, understanding where they came from, and examining the evidence for and against them.

Emotional: Using imagery and experiential techniques to access and process feelings connected to early experiences. This helps create emotional change, not just intellectual understanding.

Behavioural: Breaking patterns by making different choices, even when schemas push you toward old ways of coping.

Relational: The therapeutic relationship itself becomes a vehicle for change - experiencing a different kind of relationship than the ones that created your schemas.

Schema Modes

Schema Therapy also works with “modes” - the different emotional states and coping styles that schemas trigger. You might recognise shifting into a “vulnerable child” mode when schemas are activated, or a “punitive critic” that attacks you, or protective modes that keep you detached or compliant.

Learning to recognise and work with these modes helps you respond differently when you’re triggered.

What to Expect

Schema Therapy typically involves:

• Detailed assessment of your schemas and how they developed
• Understanding your coping styles and modes
• Cognitive work to challenge schema-driven thinking
• Experiential techniques like imagery rescripting - revisiting difficult memories with new resources
• Building a “healthy adult” mode that can meet your needs effectively
• Gradually changing behaviours that keep schemas active

It’s usually longer-term than standard CBT, reflecting the depth of patterns being addressed. But many people find it makes a real difference after years of struggling with the same issues.

Is Schema Therapy Right for You?

Consider Schema Therapy if:

• You notice the same problems repeating throughout your life
• Previous therapy has provided insight but not lasting change
• Your difficulties seem connected to childhood experiences
• You struggle with chronic low self-esteem or relationship patterns
• You want to understand yourself at a deeper level

Get in touch to explore whether Schema Therapy could help.