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How I work
Schema Therapy
An approach developed for chronic difficulties and long-standing patterns that classic cognitive-behavioural therapy does not reach.
Schema Therapy was developed to work with personality disorders and other chronic problems that could not be treated with classic cognitive-behavioural therapy. It integrates elements of CBT, Gestalt and psychodynamic therapy (particularly object relations theory), Bowlby's attachment theory and developmental psychology. It was created by Jeffrey Young, who heads the Cognitive Therapy Center of New York and the Schema Therapy Institute.
Core emotional needs
The aim of Schema Therapy is to help people meet their core emotional needs. The literature describes these as:
- secure attachment — safety, care and acceptance,
- autonomy and a sense of identity,
- freedom to express genuine needs and emotions,
- spontaneity and play,
- realistic limits and self-control.
How it differs from standard CBT
- it takes longer — usually between one and three years,
- childhood experience is addressed directly during the work,
- much more emphasis is placed on an empathic, authentic therapeutic relationship, known as limited reparenting,
- alongside cognitive and behavioural techniques, considerable attention goes to experiential work that engages emotion and corrects early emotional experience, such as imagery rescripting and chairwork.