Schema Therapy

 

Do you ever find yourself feeling the same things over and over? Do you ever find yourself behaving in ways that aren't helpful in the long term, but you just can't seem to stop yourself from doing it? It may be that your "schema" is being activated. When our schema(s) are activated we tend to believe certain things, feel certain things, and behave in ways that are often maladaptive. So how do we get out of this cycle?

 

Schema therapy is a psychological therapy developed by Jeffrey Young. It aims to help individuals understand and manage their psychological problems which stem from patterns of emotional and cognitive (thinking) responses learned through our unique experiences of the world. These emotional and cognitive responses can lead to maladaptive ways of coping when these thoughts and emotions are triggered.

 

Some easy to read information about schema therapy.

 

Through a thorough assessment and discussion with the individual, we are able to create a "map" of the emotional difficulties, the maladaptive coping responses and dysfunctional beliefs that lead to these patterns being repeated time and time again. We will discuss the best strategies for managing these beliefs, feelings and behaviours, and work together on finding more useful and healthy ways of coping with stress.