Schema Therapy
What Is Schema Therapy?
We all develop patterns in how we think, feel, and relate to others. Some of these patterns support us, hold us back, often without us even realising. Schema Therapy helps uncover the deep-rooted emotional themes behind these patterns so you can begin to understand yourself more fully, respond differently, and heal.
Who Is Schema Therapy For?
Schema Therapy is particularly helpful if you:
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Struggle with low self-esteem or self-criticism
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Feel stuck in repeated patterns in relationships
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Have difficulty trusting others or expressing needs
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Experience emotional dysregulation or internal conflict
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Grew up in an environment where your emotional needs weren’t met
It’s often used to support people with complex trauma, long-standing anxiety or depression, or personality-related challenges.
How It Works
Schema Therapy is an integrative approach that combines elements of CBT, attachment theory, psychoanalysis and experiential therapies such as gestalt. It focuses on identifying and healing schemas (maladaptive patterns), long-standing negative beliefs and emotional themes that develop in childhood or adolescence and continue to shape how we feel and act as adults.
These schemas might sound like:
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“I’m not good enough.”
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“People always leave me.”
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“If I express how I feel, I’ll be rejected.”
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“I have to be perfect to be loved.”
Over time, these beliefs can lead to emotional distress, unhelpful coping behaviours, and relationship difficulties.
Schema Therapy Helps You:
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Understand the origin of emotional patterns that cause pain or conflict
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Recognise the emotional states you move between (such as the inner critic, avoidant protector, or vulnerable child)
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Develop a more compassionate, grounded Healthy Adult mode
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Learn new ways of responding that support your emotional needs today
It’s an active, emotionally engaged process , sometimes involving imagery work, chair work, or parts dialogue , all within a safe, supportive therapeutic relationship.
