What is Schema Therapy?
Schema therapy is an innovative psychotherapy developed by Dr. Jeffrey Young for personality disorders, chronic depression, and other difficult individual and couples problems. Schema therapy integrates elements of cognitive therapy, behavior therapy, object relations, and gestalt therapy into one unified, systematic approach to treatment. Schema therapy has recently been blended with mindfulness meditation for clients who want to add a spiritual dimension to their lives.
Schemas and Coping Modes
The most basic concept in Schema Therapy is an Early Maladaptive Schema. We define schemas as: “broad, pervasive themes regarding oneself and one’s relationship with others, developed during childhood and elaborated throughout one’s lifetime, and dysfunctional to a significant degree.”
Schemas develop in childhood from an interplay between the child’s innate temperament, and the child’s ongoing damaging experiences with parents, siblings, or peers. Because they begin early in life, schemas become familiar and thus comfortable. We distort our view of the events in our lives in order to maintain the validity of our schemas. Schemas may remain dormant until they are activated by situations relevant to that particular schema.
Schema Modes are the moment-to-moment emotional states and coping responses that we all experience. Often our coping modes are triggered by life situations that we are oversensitive to (our “emotional buttons”). Many of these modes lead us to overreact to situations, or to act in ways that end up hurting us.
Goals for Treatment.
The goals of Schema Therapy are: to help clients break free from self-defeating patterns and coping styles and thus get back in touch with their core feelings. By learning how to identify and heal their early schemas and adopting healthy coping strategies, they achieve less schema triggering, a reduction in emotional intensity, and more rapid recovery. Eventually they are able to achieve their personal goals and get their emotional needs met in everyday life.