Schema therapy identifies childhood events impacting adult life, providing pathways to overcome them.

Schema Therapy

Schemas – or lifetraps – are patterns that can lead to issues such as low self-esteem, difficulties with connection to others, problems expressing feelings, and excessive worry about things going wrong.  Schemas develop from unmet emotional needs in childhood and adolescence. Schema therapy provides a way of addressing unmet needs, to break detrimental patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving, and to and develop healthier alternatives.

Schema therapy was developed in 1994 to treat personality disorders but has since been adapted for a range of mental health challenges. It integrates cognitive, behavioural, psychodynamic and experiential strategies. It is especially helpful in treating chronic depression and anxiety, relationship difficulties, and substance misuse. It can help bring about change in long-standing, self-defeating patterns or themes in thinking, feeling, and behaving/coping.

Working Together

Using schema therapy, our caring psychologists help clients to identify and heal the negative emotional memories from childhood. Providing the ‘tools’ to enable them to move on, and fulfill their emotional needs. Schema therapy is particularly helpful with personality disorders, but, is effective with other conditions as well. Eligible clients with a Mental Health Plan can receive Medicare rebates. Some Private Health Funds provide rebates. Referrals are not needed.