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Schema Therapy Program

From CBT to Something More

Schema Therapy began as an extension of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). While CBT is highly effective for many people, some found that it didn’t fully address the deeper, longstanding patterns rooted in early life experiences. Over time, Schema Therapy evolved into its own integrative approach, still grounded in CBT’s practical strategies, but expanded to include elements of attachment theory, emotion-focused therapy, and experiential techniques.

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Schema Therapy

The Heart of Schema Therapy: Core Emotional Needs

At its core, Schema Therapy is about understanding and meeting your unmet core emotional needs. We all share certain basic emotional needs that must be met for healthy development and well-being. When these needs are consistently fulfilled, we’re more likely to develop secure, flexible ways of thinking, feeling, and relating to others. When they go unmet, especially early in life, early maladaptive schemas take root.

A schema is like a deeply ingrained life pattern, a theme that keeps showing up in how you see yourself, how you relate to others, and how you interpret the world. It’s made up of your memories, emotions, thoughts, and even body sensations, and it often starts in childhood or adolescence when important emotional needs weren’t met. Over time, the schema gets reinforced, becoming a familiar but unhelpful “lens” that you view life through. They often form as a way to protect us or help us to make sense of early experiences, it can cause problems and hold you back as an adult.

Core Emotional Needs and Their Link to Schemas

In Schema Therapy, we focus on five core emotional needs. When these needs aren’t met early in life, certain predictable patterns, called schemas, often emerge. Here’s how each need, when unmet, can shape the way you think, feel, and relate to others.

1. Secure Attachment to Others

Need: Safety, stability, love, nurturance, and acceptance.

When unmet: You may grow up feeling unsafe, unloved, or unsupported.

Possible schemas that develop:

Abandonment / Instability – fear that people you depend on will leave.
Mistrust / Abuse – expectation that others will hurt, manipulate, or take advantage of you.
Emotional Deprivation – belief that your emotional needs will never be met.
Defectiveness / Shame – feeling inherently flawed or unlovable.

2. Autonomy, Competence, and a Sense of Identity

Need: Feeling capable, independent, and confident in your own identity.

When unmet: You may be overly dependent on others or doubt your ability to handle life’s challenges.

Possible schemas that develop:

Dependence / Incompetence – belief you can’t manage everyday responsibilities without help.
Vulnerability to Harm – fear that catastrophe is imminent (e.g., illness, accidents, financial ruin).
Enmeshment / Undeveloped Self – difficulty developing a separate identity from significant others.
Failure – belief you’re inadequate and will inevitably fail.

3. Freedom to Express Valid Needs and Emotions

Need: Permission and safety to express your feelings, needs, and preferences.

When unmet: The child learns that emotions are unwelcome, unsafe, or unimportant.

Possible schemas that develop:

Subjugation – putting others’ needs ahead of your own to avoid conflict or rejection.
Self-Sacrifice – excessive focus on meeting others’ needs at your own expense.
Approval-Seeking / Recognition-Seeking – prioritizing external validation over authentic self-expression.
Emotional Inhibition – suppressing emotions to avoid disapproval, shame, or loss of control.

4. Spontaneity and Play

Need: Opportunities for joy, play, creativity, and relaxation.

When unmet: The child may feel overly restricted, pressured to perform, or unable to be carefree.

Possible schemas that develop:

Negativity / Pessimism – focus on the negative aspects of life while downplaying the positive.
Unrelenting Standards / Hypercriticalness – belief you must meet extremely high standards to avoid criticism.
Punitiveness – belief that people should be harshly punished for mistakes (including yourself).

5. Realistic Limits and Self-Control

Need: Guidance in setting boundaries, respecting others, and practicing self-control.

When unmet: The child may not develop a sense of responsibility or respect for rules.

Possible schemas that develop:

Entitlement / Grandiosity – belief you’re superior and not bound by the same rules as others.
Insufficient Self-Control / Self-Discipline – difficulty tolerating frustration or delaying gratification

Coping Styles That Maintain Schemas

When our core emotional needs are not met, the resulting schemas can feel painful or overwhelming. To manage this discomfort, people often develop coping styles. These strategies may help in the short term but tend to keep the schema, and the problems it causes, alive.The three main unhealthy coping styles in Schema Therapy are:

Surrender

You give in to the schema, accept it as true, and act in ways that reinforce it.
Example: If your schema says you deserve mistreatment, you might tolerate abuse or stay silent when treated unfairly.

Avoidance

You try to block out or escape from situations that might trigger the schema.
Example: You might distract yourself with substances, overwork, or avoid relationships entirely to prevent feelings of rejection or vulnerability.

Overcompensation

You fight the schema by acting in the opposite way—but in an extreme or rigid manner that can create its own problems.
Example: To counter a schema of worthlessness, you push yourself to be excessively successful, leading to burnout, perfectionism, or strained relationships

Who Schema Therapy Helps, and Why People Choose It

Schema Therapy is for people who feel like they’ve been working on themselves for years but still end up in the same emotional place. You might have read the books, tried other therapies, or pushed yourself to “just get over it”, and yet certain patterns keep showing up.

You may notice:

Relationships that repeat the same painful dynamics, no matter who they’re with
An underlying sense of shame, defectiveness, or “never being enough”
Emotional reactions that feel bigger than the moment, almost as if they belong to another time in your life
A constant pull between craving closeness and fearing it
Saying yes to others even when it costs you your own well-being
Avoiding opportunities that could bring connection or success because they feel too risky
Driving yourself relentlessly to achieve or be perfect, but never feeling satisfied
Persistent anxiety, depression, or emptiness that other treatments haven’t fully touched
The lingering impact of childhood trauma, neglect, or emotionally unavailable caregivers

If your symptoms keep coming back, or if you’ve spotted deep, recurring themes in your life that you can’t seem to change, Schema Therapy offers something different.

It looks beyond the surface. Many therapies focus on managing symptoms. Schema Therapy works to uncover and transform the root causes, the unmet emotional needs and old beliefs driving those symptoms.
It works with the part of you that still feels stuck. This approach isn’t just about logic or problem-solving, it reaches the emotional parts of you that other therapies often miss.
It creates healing experiences in real time. Through a safe, supportive relationship with your therapist, you can experience the kind of understanding, validation, and connection that might have been missing earlier in life.
It changes not just how you think, but how you feel and connect. The goal isn’t only to feel better, it’s to live, love, and relate in ways that feel freer, more secure, and more fulfilling.

If you’ve ever thought, “I know better, but I still can’t seem to do better,” Schema Therapy was made for you.