What is your experience with therapy and schema therapy?

I have used Schema Therapy. Found it really helped me understand why I had negative thought patterns and my reactions to issues. It has helped me learn techniques that gives me an insight to handle life's problems.Tthere is a book by Jeffrey E Young & Janet Klosko called Reiventing Your Life. My psychologist recommended the book when I started Schema Therapy.
I still use the book when I'm not feeling the best. Easy to read
I personally believe that this therapy is helpful in letting me have a better life

Thanks so much for your reply @Ma60

How many sessions did you have of Schema Therapy until you started to find it helpful? Was it something you found you had to do very often over a long period of time or were you given techniques early on that you found helpful?

Hi @t4ila

I just wanted to reach out and welcome you to the forums - it’s great to have you here

Over the years, I’ve participated in many different types of therapy with little if any success. Although the Therapists offered me various strategies, these felt more like band aids and when the band aids fell off, the wounds were still there. Nothing had healed and nothing had overly changed because the issues that had resulted in the wounds hadn’t been taken care of in the way that I needed. As such, my ability to sustain long lasting change was extremely limited and I found that I was grappling with the same issues day in day out. At times, I really did feel as though I was stuck on a never ending merry go round!

A few years ago, I found a Therapist who uses Schema Therapy and I’ve been participating in this approach for four years now! I know that it’s a really long time but please don’t be too put off by this as there are many different factors that can contribute to this

One of the things that I really love about Schema Therapy is that it works at a deeper level. As such, it goes beyond providing temporary relief from symptoms and it supports people to be able to understand themselves and achieve and sustain the longer term changes that are important to them.

This is the first time that I’ve felt as though someone really ‘gets me’ and it feels as though the approach focuses on understanding ‘what has happened for you’ in your life to contribute to the issues that you’re struggling with today, as opposed to focusing on ‘what is wrong with you.’ As such, I’m beginning to be able to put all of the puzzle pieces together and I feel the most hopeful that I have ever felt that recovery may actually be possible

It can be really daunting trying to decide upon a therapeutic approach as there are so many to choose from! Sometimes, it’s only when we begin to participate in an approach, that we can really get a sense of how it feels and if it’s a good fit for us

I hope that this helps you a little bit

Take care,

ShiningStar

Sorry I haven't replied before now. I started schema therapy over 10 years ago. It took about six months to understand and process in a helpful way. It is not a quick fix and it took a couple years to feel comfortable about issues. I don't do regular sessions about my schemas anymore. Schema therapy is my fallback when I'm not feeling the best. I read Reinventing my life and work through the schema that I am struggling with at the time. Also when I see my psychologist we discuss the issue troubling me at the time. For me it is maintenance that keeps things in perspective.

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