Scheme Therapy: What Is It

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

What is Scheme Therapy?

Scheme therapy is a psychotherapy of character, of those characteristics that hurt people, destroy their relationships with others, and prevent them from living meaningful, fulfilling lives.

Scheme-therapy is an approach that combines cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, gestalt-approach and attachment theory within one theoretical model.

It was originally created to help chronically depressed people who were not helped by traditional cognitive psychotherapy. However, in the last decade, Scheme Therapy has built a solid reputation as one of the most effective methods of character psychotherapy. Fortunately, today the scheme-therapy is actively developing in Russia.

Egor is 32 years old. When he was 6, his parents moved to work in Sri Lanka and sent him to a local school. The boy found himself in an alien environment, he was very different from other children, did not understand their customs and rules. No one talked to him about what awaits him, did not help him cope with stress and did not support him during adaptation. A few years later, the family moved again, and Yegor found himself in exactly the same situation: alone among strangers and dissimilar. His need to belong to a group was not met at precisely the age when it was especially important. As a result, he formed a scheme of "Social isolation". Egor feels his separation from other people, he is sure that he is completely different from any of them. He considers himself a loner and it does not occur to him to look for those with whom he would speak the same language: people with a view of the world close to him and similar interests. Yegor has to communicate a lot, but he avoids talking on personal topics, because he is sure that he will not be understood. In addition, he moves a lot, since in the new environment the feeling of isolation is understandable logically and does not upset him so much. Yegor's need to belong to a group, to understand that there are other people with whom he feels "at ease" is still not satisfied. And this makes a significant contribution to his apathy, loneliness and depression, which led him to psychotherapy.

Why "schema"?

The concept of "schema" is actively used in the framework of cognitive psychology - a section of psychology that studies how our perception and thinking are arranged. Schemes are beliefs and feelings about yourself, others, and the world that people believe automatically, “intuitively,” without asking questions.

We perceive the world through the prism of our schemes and there is nothing pathological in this. This is the usual way that everyone organizes their experiences. Without diagrams, we would spend too much time understanding what is happening around and what to do about it.

Problems arise when circuits:

• arose on the basis of painful experiences, therefore, lead to the experience or expectation of pain and negative emotions;
• rigid, that is, they do not change under the influence of real experience, no matter how positive it is;
• provoke instant, little conscious and, as a rule, maladaptive behavior.

As a result, the operation of such schemes does not help, but prevents us from living. Over and over again, we step on the same rake, even if we try our best to avoid them.

• Has it happened to you that a seemingly insignificant event strongly and for a long time spoiled your mood?
• Have you noticed that in some similar situations you behave completely differently than you would like, and how you should behave? And it repeats itself over and over again, and there is nothing you can do about it?
• Maybe you want close and trusting relationships and do a lot for this, but all the time you get something completely, completely different?
• You work hard and have achieved something, you are respected, but you yourself do not feel your worth and seem to be a deceiver?
• Perhaps you have noticed that you tend to expect bad things from the world and other people? And even if it doesn't happen, do you still wait for it?

These are just examples. But if you answered “yes” to any of these questions, now you know by your own example how such schemes prevent us from living. They cause strong negative feelings, incline to dark thoughts about ourselves, others and the world, under their influence, we are unable to take care of our needs and achieve what we want.

Young called such schemes Early maladaptive schemes … He suggested that they arise in early childhood when the basic needs of the child are not met, or are met inappropriately. Found in childhood, a means to cope with pain in such situations, the adult continues to use automatically, often without even noticing it. Or, having noticed, there is often little that can change.

Young identified 18 Early Maladaptive Schemes, dividing them into groups based on basic unmet need. Here we will only list them, and we will discuss them in detail in the next article.

Need for secure attachment (including security, understanding, acceptance, leadership)

If this need is constantly not met in childhood, the following patterns may arise: 1) Abandonment, 2) Mistrust / Abuse, 3) Emotional deprivation, 4) Defectiveness, 5) Social isolation.

The need for autonomy, competence and a sense of identity

Failure to satisfy these needs corresponds to the following schemes: 6) Insolvency, 7) Vulnerability to harm, 8) Underdeveloped self, 9) Doom to fail.

The need to freely express your feelings, experiences and needs

Schemes correspond to it: 10) Submission, 11) Self-sacrifice, 12) Seeking approval.

Need for spontaneity and play

Schemes arise 13) Negativism, 14) Emotion suppression, 15) Punishment, 16) Rigid standards.

Need for realistic boundaries and self-control training

Schemes: 17) grandeur, 18) lack of self-control.

Why are basic needs not met in childhood?

Typically, this is a combination of several factors. Firstly, these are family habits and values, personal characteristics of parents. Secondly, these are the innate characteristics of the child, for example, the properties of his temperament. And finally, these are simply life circumstances.

Let's go back to Yegor. If his parents knew how to talk about their feelings, or if a couple of children from Russia were in school, or if he was born with a mild need for communication, it is quite possible that he would not have a social isolation scheme today.

Everyone has early maladaptive schemes. None of us grew up in an ideal environment where all of our needs were met exactly as needed: no more, no less. But schemas can be expressed to very different degrees. The stronger the schemes, the more often they “work, the more pain they bring. The more strongly expressed patterns a person has, the more basic needs it is difficult for him to satisfy.

The goal of schema therapy is to reduce the impact of early maladaptive schemas on a person's life and help him understand and learn to meet his basic needs. Scheme therapy helps people change the way they think, how they feel, and how they act.

To do this, she uses many strategies developed in different psychotherapy schools.

Some strategies work with thinking and aim to change the way people think about themselves, others, the world, and their needs.

Other strategies aim to change how people feel, to work with emotional memory and imagination. For this, both techniques typical for gestalt therapy and J. Young's own developments are used.

Behavioral strategies help change how people act in the circumstances that trigger their schemes. Sometimes this requires mastering the missing skills, for example, new ways of communication, sometimes - learning to relax, sometimes just trying to behave differently over and over again.

Finally, the therapeutic relationship is an important part of schema therapy. It is very important that the therapist is warm, empathic and, within the framework of the therapeutic relationship, takes care of the client's needs. In the process of working together, the therapist and the client create a common vision of problems and difficulties, discuss a work plan, and share observations.

Yegor will have to find what is in common between him and other people. Recall and, in a safe environment, with the empathic support of the therapist, express the pain he experienced when he was rejected by children. Learn to talk about your experiences, observations and interests, first in a psychologist's office, and then with other people. Overcome anxiety and fear and still find those with whom he can speak his own language and feel free and uninhibited.

Sincerely, clinical psychologist

Natalia Dikova