Therapy Approaches

Schema Therapy

Understanding and transforming the deep patterns that drive your suffering.

Schema Therapy
What It Is

Working with the stories we learned to tell about ourselves

Schema therapy was developed to help people whose difficulties run deep — those who have struggled for years with patterns that feel impossible to change, regardless of how much they understand them or how hard they’ve tried.

A “schema” is a core belief or theme about yourself and the world that developed early in life, usually in response to unmet emotional needs. Examples include beliefs like I am fundamentally flawed, I will always be abandoned, or I am not allowed to have my own needs. These schemas operate automatically and feel deeply true, even when they’re not.

Schema therapy integrates elements of CBT, attachment theory, psychodynamic therapy, and experiential techniques to help you identify these schemas, understand where they came from, and gradually replace them with healthier patterns. The work is both intellectual and deeply felt.

This approach may help if you are

  • Experiencing recurring patterns in life or relationships that seem impossible to change
  • Struggling with deep shame, unworthiness, or the feeling of being fundamentally different
  • Finding that insight alone hasn’t led to change
  • Dealing with chronic depression, anxiety, or personality-level difficulties
  • Carrying significant childhood wounds or emotional neglect
  • Having tried other therapies with limited success
Schedule a Free Consultation
What to Expect

What schema therapy sessions are like

Schema therapy is typically a longer-term process. We begin by mapping your schemas and understanding how they developed and how they show up in your life today. From there, we use a combination of conversation, imagery work, and experiential techniques to create real, felt change — not just intellectual understanding.

The therapeutic relationship plays an important role in schema therapy. Through the experience of being met with consistent care and respect, many of the core beliefs that developed in its absence can begin to shift.

Start the conversation

I offer a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation. It’s a chance to talk, ask questions, and see if working together feels right.

Schedule a Free Consultation