Schema Therapy Sydney

New Vision Psychology has a team of psychologists who offer schema therapy in Sydney. Schema therapy is used to help individuals identify and address deep-rooted patterns that affect their mental well-being.

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Schema Therapy Counselling

Schema therapy is a form of integrative therapy, combining theory and techniques from a range of therapy approaches to target dysfunctional beliefs and repeated behaviour patterns that often contribute to emotional and mental distress.

At New Vision Psychology, we have a team of psychologists who offer schema therapy; facilitating meaningful and lasting change in emotional well-being and behaviour.

Our Session Fees

A standard session at New Vision Psychology is 50-minutes in duration.

Registered Psychologist

$143.35*

With Medicare rebate
Between 8am-5pm weekdays ($158.35 after hours)

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Registered Psychologist

$240*

Without Medicare rebate
Between 8am-5pm weekdays ($255 after hours)

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Clinical Psychologist

$138.15*

With Medicare rebate
Between 8am-5pm weekdays ($153.15 after hours)

Book Appointment

Clinical Psychologist

$280*

Without Medicare rebate
Between 8am-5pm weekdays ($295 after hours)

Book Appointment

How does schema therapy work?

Schema therapy works based on the concept of ‘schemas’, which are defined as enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that typically develop during childhood or formative years, and carry over into adulthood.

Schemas develop as a result of the connections between a child’s innate temperament and experiences with parents, siblings, or peers. Every individual has a set of schemas that are unique to them based on their childhood experiences.

Not all schemas are harmful or negative — there are also positive and neutral schemas that people rely on to understand and interact with the world and others around them. Negative schemas or maladaptive schemas, however, often result in repeated detrimental thinking and behaviour that ultimately affects individuals’ mental health, relationships, and ways of coping.

What is involved with schema therapy?

In schema therapy, the main goal of treatment is to identify the type and origin of any maladaptive schemas that are affecting the individual and change them in order to reduce the destructive impact they have on the individual’s quality of life. It aims for long-term change by addressing deeper emotional needs, rather than surface-level cognitive changes.

Identifying early maladaptive schemas

A schema psychologist will assess individuals, often through counselling sessions and specific tools like questionnaires, to identify maladaptive schemas based on the difficulties they face or other presenting problems in everyday situations. Some examples of maladaptive schemas include: fear of abandonment, mistrust towards others, emotional deprivation, hyper-criticalness and approval-seeking.

The psychologist will also identify schema modes, which are the emotional states and coping responses triggered by schemas. Once the maladaptive schemas and schema modes have been identified, the psychologist will explain the nature of the pattern to the individual and how it is currently affecting their everyday life.

Challenging negative schemas

With the affecting schemas identified, psychologists will work with individuals to challenge the related beliefs about themselves, their life, and their relationships. Alongside challenging these negative beliefs through cognitive restructuring, psychologists will also implement behavioural techniques to help individuals build more positive and helpful patterns of thinking in place of the negative schemas.

Providing strategies for reinforcement

Individuals will be provided with tailored strategies to help them adapt to and reinforce the newer, healthier thinking patterns, for example, through homework exercises, journalling or mindfulness practices. Over time, these will take root in the mind of the individual and lead to lasting emotional and behavioural changes.

Supporting emotional processing

Psychologists will provide ongoing support to empower and validate the emotional needs of the individual. This involves actively listening to their concerns, offering empathy, and acknowledging their experiences as valid and important.

Conditions that schema therapy can treat

Schema therapy is an evidence-based approach — multiple studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in treating a range of complex and entrenched psychological conditions and their related symptoms, as well as pinpointing the historical sources of these difficulties. It is known for its long-term efficacy and preventing relapse in chronic conditions. Benefits include improved emotional awareness, better coping mechanisms and reduced self-defeating behaviours.

Conditions that schema therapy can help with include:

Personality disorders (e.g. borderline, narcissistic)
Chronic depression
Anxiety disorders
Eating disorders
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Relationship issues
Chronic dissatisfaction with life
Persistent emotional issues related to childhood trauma and neglect

What techniques are used in schema therapy?

Schema therapy uses a variety of techniques, including cognitive restructuring, experiential exercises (such as imagery rescripting, chair work and role-playing), behavioural pattern-breaking, limited reparenting, schema mode work, empathic confrontation, homework assignments and emotion regulation. These techniques help individuals identify, challenge, and change negative schemas.

How a schema psychologist in Sydney can help

If you frequently experience overwhelming or distressing feelings and thoughts, undergoing schema therapy with a qualified psychologist can be beneficial.

Some of the common feelings or thoughts that schema psychologists can help with include feelings of unworthiness (e.g. “I’ll never be good enough”), fears of being abandoned, overwhelming fear of failure, self-resentment, or feelings of helplessness.

With the help of a psychologist, schema therapy can help identify the negative schemas and coping mechanisms that are affecting your life, and help you change the way you think with more positive thinking, emotions, and behaviours for a healthier and more fulfilling quality of life.

How many sessions of schema therapy will be required?

The process of changing longstanding ways of thinking and beliefs will not happen overnight — schemas and unhelpful patterns develop over the course of a lifetime and can be very complicated to unravel. The results of schema therapy will vary based on each individual’s engagement in therapy, response to treatment, the complexity of their condition, and any co-occurring issues.

Schema therapy is usually used as a longer-term treatment option (15 or more sessions), as it focuses on addressing core dysfunctional themes in a person’s life instead of simply dealing with the symptoms. It includes regular reviews, where the psychologist and the client will assess the effectiveness of the therapy and adjust techniques and goals accordingly, so that the duration of the treatment may be tailored to the client’s evolving needs.