Schema
Therapy
Break free from lifelong patterns rooted in unmet childhood needs.
What Is Schema Therapy?
Schema Therapy integrates cognitive-behavioral, attachment, and emotion-focused approaches to address deeply rooted patterns — called "schemas" — that often form in childhood when core emotional needs go unmet. These early patterns can show up later in life as recurring struggles with self-worth, relationships, or emotional regulation. Schema Therapy goes beyond symptom relief to address the origin of these long-standing patterns.
How It Works
Your therapist will help you identify your specific early maladaptive schemas (such as abandonment, defectiveness, or unrelenting standards) and the emotional "modes" you shift into when those schemas are triggered. Treatment combines cognitive techniques, experiential work like imagery and chair-work, and the therapeutic relationship itself as a way to meet needs that went unmet earlier in life.
Who Schema Therapy Helps
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Borderline and narcissistic personality patterns
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Chronic, treatment-resistant depression or anxiety
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Repeating unhealthy relationship patterns
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Long-standing self-esteem struggles
What to Expect
Schema Therapy tends to be longer-term than other modalities, since it addresses deeply ingrained patterns. Sessions can feel both cognitive and emotionally experiential, often drawing connections between current struggles and earlier life experiences.
