Today we are taking a look at Schema therapy that was developed by American psychologist Jeffrey E. Young as a treatment that specifically targets personality disorders. While not as widely available as many of the other therapies you will read about on this site it is growing in popularity due to its level of success. Today we will take a look at what it entails, how effective it might be and if it is right for you…
What is Schema Therapy?
Put simply Schema therapy is a psychotherapy therapy technique that is a mix of other existing therapies like CBT and Gestalt Therapy. This treatment uses many of the existing styles like pre-thinking and mood management but also throws in some curveballs in the form of experiential techniques like chair-work and historical roleplay that might be more confronting, but also more powerful in the long run. You will be challenging your own core beliefs at an intellectual level and breaking each trauma or BPD symptom apart looking at why it happened.
Is Schema Therapy Right For me?
Th remain reason this therapy gets better results that others like DBT are the range of approaches it can utilize. This is often why it is best for people whose difficulties have become entrenched and deep-seeded as it goes deeper than many other therapies. But due to this deeper inward-looking it might not be right for you especially if you are not at the point in your life when you are ready to do that. Also, it can take several years to get to the bottom of the problems, so a long-term commitment to therapy will be needed, especially as it could be seen as dangerous to stop half-way through.
How Can I Get Schema Therapy Here in the UK?
Sadly Schema Therapy is not something UK health-boards have fully adopted yet with only a small handful of them offering free therapy (like the Avon and Wilshire Trust). But it is growing in popularity and it might be worth asking your local health-board or CAMHS worker. The other problem with this therapy is it can require long-term work that you will often need to commit to. You need to think about at least 12 months of therapy or even better 2 years+ depending on the core of your problems. So going private means a significant investment of both your time and money, but many people do report it is worth it.
As with any of these BPD treatments before you might need to try a combination of them before you find that winning combination, but do stick with it. If you want any help or advice relating to BPD do drop me an email via the contact us page and one of our writers will answer it ASAP.
