Schema Focused Therapy (SFT)

Schema-focused therapy is a type of psychotherapy that involves changing unhealthy and self-defeating behavior patterns using a combination of cognitive, behavioral, and emotion-focused techniques. In addition, there is a focus on the patient-therapist relationship, daily life outside of therapy, and the impact of childhood traumas. Schema therapy addresses unmet childhood needs that create negative schemas.

What Are Schemas?

Schemas are thought patterns that inform a person's worldview. Schemas could include negative ideas like "I'll never find love" or "I'm a damaged person."

Schemas can manifest in the following ways:

  • Being overly dependent on others

  • Constantly expecting failure

  • Perfectionism

  • Having a sense of entitlement

  • Believing in harsh punishment

There are several goals of schema-focused therapy, including:

  • Replacing schemas and negative coping modes with a realistic and self-supporting view of the world

  • Using the patient-therapist relationship to teach the person what a trusting relationship is like (also known as limited reparenting)

  • Addressing childhood traumas

  • Testing schemas through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques

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Trauma Therapy