Schema Therapy looks at 'schemas' — deep, long-standing patterns usually formed in childhood — that continue to shape how you see yourself, relate to others and react under stress, even when they no longer serve you well.
Schemas such as abandonment, defectiveness, unrelenting standards or self-sacrifice tend to drive the same painful outcomes in relationships, work and self-worth. Schema Therapy draws on CBT, psychodynamic and experiential techniques (imagery, chair work) to understand where a pattern came from, meet the needs behind it, and change how it plays out now. It tends to be a longer-term approach.
Sessions blend discussion with experiential work, and the relationship with the practitioner is itself part of the method. It is particularly suited to patterns that have been present for a long time and haven't shifted much with shorter-term therapy, including entrenched relationship patterns.
People who feel stuck in the same cycles despite insight or previous therapy, and who are willing to commit to longer-term work.
Further reading: International Society of Schema Therapy.
CBT works mostly in the present on thoughts and behaviour; Schema Therapy goes further back, to the emotional needs and early experiences behind a pattern, and uses experiential techniques as well as cognitive ones.
Typically longer than CBT — months rather than weeks — because the patterns being worked on are old and deep.
Sessions with an eligible practitioner under a Mental Health Treatment Plan attract the usual Better Access rebate; the rebated session count is the same as for any therapy.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 000 in an emergency. OneBodyMind is not a crisis service. Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636.