What is Schema Therapy?

Schema therapy is an extension of cognitive behavior therapy designed to treat a variety of long-standing emotional difficulties with significant origins in childhood and adolescent development. The goal of schema therapy is to help clients get their core needs met in an adaptive manner by enhancing positive schemas and developing healthier coping responses when negative schemas are triggered.

Negative schemas develop when core childhood needs are not met. When parents can more or less meet the child’s core emotional needs in appropriate amounts, the child develops into a healthy adult. Children’s basic needs include:

• Safety
• Stable Base, Predictability
• Love, Nurturing & Attention
• Acceptance & Praise
• Empathy
• Guidance & Protection
• Validation of Feelings & Needs

Schema Therapy vs. Cognitive Behavior Therapy

Compared to traditional cognitive behavior therapy, schema therapy incorporates:

• Greater emphasis on the therapeutic relationship
• More emphasis on affect (e.g., imagery, role-playing) and mood states
• More discussion of childhood origins and developmental processes
• More emphasis on lifelong coping styles (e.g., avoidance and overcompensation)
• More emphasis on entrenched core themes (i.e., core beliefs and schemas)

Schemas — What Are They?

A schema is a stable, enduring negative pattern that develops during childhood or adolescence and is reinforced through thoughts, core beliefs, actions and relationships throughout an individual’s life. We view the world through our schemas. Schemas incorporate core beliefs and feelings about oneself and the environment which the individual accepts without question. They are self-perpetuating, and are very resistant to change.

Even though schemas persist once they are formed, they are not always in our awareness. Usually they operate in subtle ways, out of our awareness. Everyone has schemas since no parent could be a perfect parent and fulfill every emotional need 100% of the time. While the schema descriptions may sound negative, it is normal to have some elements of some schemas within your personality structure. However, when a schema erupts or is triggered by events, our thoughts and feelings are dominated by these schemas. It is at these moments that people tend to experience extreme negative emotions and have dysfunctional thoughts.

18 Common Schema Themes

1. Emotional Deprivation: This schema refers to the belief that one’s primary emotional needs will never be met by others. These needs can be described in three categories: Nurturance—needs for affection, closeness and love; Empathy—needs to be listened to and understood; Protection—needs for advice, guidance and direction. Generally parents are cold or removed and don’t adequately care for the child in ways that would adequately meet the above needs.
2. Abandonment/Instability: This schema refers to the expectation that one will soon lose anyone with whom an emotional attachment is formed. The person believes that, one way or another, close relationships will end imminently. As children, these clients may have experienced the divorce or death of parents. This schema can also arise when parents have been inconsistent in attending to the child’s needs; for instance, there may have been frequent occasions on which the child was left alone or unattended to for extended periods.
3. Mistrust/Abuse: This schema refers to the expectation that others will intentionally take advantage in some way. People with this schema expect others to hurt, cheat, or put them down. They often think in terms of attacking first or getting revenge afterwards. In childhood, these clients were often abused or treated unfairly by parents, siblings, or peers.
4. Social Isolation/Alienation: This schema refers to the belief that one is isolated from the world, different from other people, and/or not part of any community. This belief is usually caused by early experiences in which children see that either they, or their families, are different from other people.
5. Defectiveness/Shame: This schema refers to the belief that one is internally flawed, and that, if others get close, they will realize this and withdraw from the relationship. This feeling of being flawed and inadequate often leads to a strong sense of shame. Generally parents were very critical of their children and made them feel as if they were not worthy of being loved.
6. Failure: This schema refers to the belief that one is incapable of performing as well as one’s peers in areas such as career, school or sports. These clients may feel stupid, inept or untalented. People with this schema often do not try to achieve because they believe that they will fail. This schema may develop if children are put down and treated as if they are a failure in school and other spheres of accomplishment. Usually the parents did not give enough support, discipline, and encouragement for the child to persist and succeed in areas of achievement, such as schoolwork or sport.
7. Dependence/Incompetence: This schema refers to the belief that one is not capable of handling day-to-day responsibilities competently and independently. People with this schema often rely on others excessively for help in areas such as decision-making and initiating new tasks. Generally, parents did not encourage these children to act independently and develop confidence in their ability to take care of themselves.
8. Vulnerability to Harm and Illness: This schema refers to the belief that one is always on the verge of experiencing a major catastrophe (financial, natural, medical, criminal, etc.). It may lead to taking excessive precautions to protect oneself. Usually there was an extremely fearful parent who passed on the idea that the world is a dangerous place.
9. Enmeshment/Undeveloped Self: This schema refers to a pattern in which you experience too much emotional involvement with others – usually parents or romantic partners. It may also include the sense that one has too little individual identity or inner direction, causing a feeling of emptiness or of floundering. This schema is often brought on by parents who are so controlling, abusive, or so overprotective that the child is discouraged from developing a separate sense of self.
10. Subjugation: This schema refers to the belief that one must submit to the control of others in order to avoid negative consequences. Often these clients fear that, unless they submit, others will get angry or reject them. Clients who subjugate ignore their own desires and feelings. In childhood there was generally a very controlling parent.
11. Self-Sacrifice: This schema refers to the excessive sacrifice of one’s own needs in order to help others. When these clients pay attention to their own needs, they often feel guilty. To avoid this guilt, they put others’ needs ahead of their own. Often clients who self-sacrifice gain a feeling of increased self-esteem or a sense of meaning from helping others. In childhood the person may have been made to feel overly responsible for the well being of one or both parents.
12. Emotional Inhibition: This schema refers to the belief that you must suppress spontaneous emotions and impulses, especially anger, because any expression of feelings would harm others or lead to loss of self-esteem, embarrassment, retaliation or abandonment. You may lack spontaneity, or be viewed as uptight. This schema is often brought on by parents who discourage the expression of feelings.
13. Unrelenting Standards/Hypercriticalness: This schema refers to the belief that whatever you do is not good enough, that you must always strive harder. The motivation for this belief is the desire to meet extremely high internal demands for competence, usually to avoid internal criticism. People with this schema show impairments in important life areas, such as health, pleasure or self- esteem. Usually these clients’ parents were never satisfied and gave their children love that was conditional on outstanding achievement.
14. Entitlement/Grandiosity: This schema refers to the belief that you should be able to do, say, or have whatever you want immediately regardless of whether that hurts others or seems reasonable to them. You are not interested in what other people need, nor are you aware of the long- term costs to you of alienating others. Parents who overindulge their children and who do not set limits about what is socially appropriate may foster the development of this schema. Alternatively, some children develop this schema to compensate for feelings of emotional deprivation or defectiveness. Positive schema to enhance would be empathy and compassion for others.
15. Insufficient Self-Control/Self-Discipline: This schema refers to the inability to tolerate any frustration in reaching one’s goals, as well as an inability to restrain expression of one’s impulses or feelings. When lack of self-control is extreme, criminal or addictive behavior rule your life. Parents who did not model self-control, or who did not adequately discipline their children, may predispose them to have this schema as adults.
16. Approval-Seeking/Recognition-Seeking: This schema refers to the placing of too much emphasis on gaining the approval and recognition of others at the expense of one’s genuine needs and sense of self. It can also include excessive emphasis on status and appearance as a means of gaining recognition and approval. Clients with this schema are generally extremely sensitive to rejections by others and try hard to fit in. Usually they did not have their needs for unconditional love and acceptance met by their parents in their early years.
17. Negativity/Pessimism: This schema refers to a pervasive pattern of focusing on the negative aspects of life while minimizing the positive aspects. Clients with this schema are unable to enjoy things that are going well in their lives because they are so concerned with negative details or potential future problems. They worry about possible failures no matter how well things are going for them. Usually these clients had a parent who worried excessively.
18. Punitiveness: This schema refers to the belief that people deserve to be harshly punished for making mistakes. People with this schema are critical and unforgiving of themselves and/or others. They tend to be angry about imperfect behaviors much of the time. In childhood these clients usually had at least one parent who put too much emphasis on performance and had a punitive style of controlling behavior.

At the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center of Silicon Valley, we have an in-depth interview process and series of questionnaires that can help us identify your primary schemas.

About the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center of Silicon Valley

The Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center of Silicon Valley offers Schema Therapy for chronic and long standing problems and patterns. With our convenient location just a 1/2 mile from Highway 85 and the Saratoga Avenue exit, we serve the Silicon Valley communities of San Jose, Saratoga, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Cupertino and Campbell, CA. Contact us at (408) 384-8404 or send an email for more information on how we can help you with long term schema change.