Schema therapy

Schema therapy incorporates aspects of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), attachment theory, psychodynamic psychotherapy and emotion-focused therapies. It aims to address unmet needs experienced in childhood and helps the patient to develop their healthy adult self.

Schema therapy involves:

• the patient exploring different modes of responding to situations and supporting healthy ways of responding
• challenging maladaptive schemas (deeply held beliefs that the patient may hold about themselves, others around them or the world)
• experiential interventions, such as chair work (enacting different parts of the self or key individuals in the person’s life) and imagery rescripting (rewriting the narrative of the person’s memories or experiences focusing on core themes and more adaptive outcomes).