Schema Therapy

Question 1

What is Schema Therapy?

Answer 1

Schema Therapy recognises the link between specific emotional needs and the development of maladaptive schema, coping styles and modes as a consequence of unmet needs in childhood. These schema can be grouped into schema domains (types).

Schema Therapy uses a ‘Limited Reparenting’ approach to establish new healthy modes of relating.

Question 2

Who are the main people in its development?

Answer 2

Eshkol Rafaeli
David P. Bernstein
Jeffrey Young

All come from CBT background

Question 3

What are the five domains and their associated eighteen schema

Answer 3

Domain I: DISCONNECTION AND REJECTION

1. Abandonment/Instability
2. Mistrust/Abuse
3. Emotional Deprivation
4. Defectiveness/Shame
5. Social Isolation/Alienation

Domain II : IMPAIRED AUTONOMY AND PERFORMANCE

6. Dependence/Incompetence
7. Vulnerability to Harm or Illness
8. Enmeshed/Undeveloped Self
9. Failure

Domain III: IMPAIRED LIMITS

10. Entitlement/Grandiosity
11. Insufficient Self-control/Self-discipline

Domain IV: OTHRR-DIRECTEDNESS

12. Subjugation (the action of bringing someone or something under domination or control)
    a) Subjugation of Needs
    b) Subjugation of Emotions
13. Self-sacrifice
14. Approval-seeking/Recognition-seeking

Domain V: OVERVIGILANCE AND INHIBITION

15. Negativity/pessimism
16. Emotional Inhibition
17. Unrelenting Standards/Hypercriticalness
18. Punitiveness

Question 4

What are the three

Answer 4

Schema surr

Question 5

What are the three MALADAPTIVE COPING STYLES (behaviours)?

Answer 5

Schema surrender - COMPLIANT SURRENDERER
Schema avoidance - DETATCHED PROTECTOR
Schema over compensation - OVERCOMPENSATOR
(Young at al., 2003)

Question 6

What are coping MODES?
emotional states (as opposed to coping styles which are behaviours

Answer 6

Modes are dominant emotional state, schema, and coping reactions that are active for an individual at a particular time. A transient state rather than a stable TRAIT.

The four main types of modes are:

a) Child modes
b) Maladaptive coping modes
c) Dysfunctional internalized parent modes
d) A healthy adult mode.

The wounded core of the individual is the Vulnerable Child mode

Question 7

Why is the Vulnerable child mode so important?

Answer 7

The Vulnerable Child mode provides the clearest and most unequivocal manifestations of unmet needs and their emotional consequences (p52)

Question 8

What is the objective of Schema Therapy?

Answer 8

The ultimate objective is to help adults get their own needs met, even though these needs may have not been met in the past. To try to heal the Vulnerable Child mode, and to teach … (how to) gradually provide such self-nurturance on their own.

Question 9

What are the three main processes of Schema Therapy?

Answer 9

1) Distinguishing “sad” from “bad” and separating self-criticism or self-blame (secondary emotions) from the more primary emotions
2) Recognising and expressing unmet needs as a precursor to having them met, and
3) Begining the process of having the needs met within the therapy itself (I.e. the therapist’s reparenting).