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Schema Therapy

Schema therapy - more precisely, schema-focused cognitive therapy - was developed by Dr. Jeffrey Young in New York during the 1980s/1990s to improve treatment for people who did not respond well to traditional cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). He found that people with lifelong problems often needed to look deeper into their early emotional experiences to understand their difficulties. The 'maladaptive schemas' targeted in treatment are enduring, self-defeating patterns that typically begin early in life. Schemas are also sometimes called 'lifetraps', because they keep recurring to trip us up and prevent us from getting what we need for our wellbeing. 

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The maladaptive schemas themselves are a complex knot of negative and unhelpful thoughts, beliefs, feelings and behaviours, which are self-defeating and make us unhappy. They are seen especially in the way people feel about themselves and in how they interact in their relationships. They can actually make it very hard for people to form lasting, healthy relationships. Maladaptive schemas are thought to originate from our childhood experiences, and from our core needs not being met as we were growing up, during times when we had no choice but to find ways to adapt and cope with whatever experiences came our way. 

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Schema therapy is designed to help people break these persistent negative patterns and to develop healthier alternatives. Because maladaptive schemas are self-perpetuating and resistant to change, they can be difficult to change by yourself, and it can require some focused work in therapy to identify them and work out what is going wrong. Once you understand your schemas and how they are tripping you up, you can then decide what changes you want to make to improve the way you feel about yourself, your relationships with others, and your overall quality of life. 

 

 

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