Jeffrey Young’s Schema-Focused Therapy

Jeffrey Young’s schema-focused therapy is very effective in cases of chronic psychological disorders or when they do not respond to other therapies.. This interesting approach integrates attachment theories, Gestalt currents, constructivism, some elements of psychoanalysis and also the cognitive-behavioral bases themselves.

If there is something that every psychologist knows, it is that there are clinical realities that are very difficult to treat.. The causes can be several: the personality of the patient himself, the rate of relapses and even the disorder itself. Let us think, for example, that conditions such as personality disorders (borderline, antisocial, histrionic, etc.) present multiple challenges for every professional.

Even more, These types of psychological realities benefit greatly from broader approachesthere where one can combine psychological therapy with social education, workshops and even with practices such as Mindfulness, as revealed by a study carried out by the University of Texas and the city of New York.

Integrative approaches work, and the most prominent of them is undoubtedly schema-focused therapy.a strategy that in its day represented an advance compared to Aaron T. Beck’s cognitive treatment.

Schema-focused therapy, an integrative approach

Psychologist Jeffrey E. Young has spent the last 20 years developing schema-focused therapy from his experience., and the clinical demands that he has had to face every day. Thus, his book Schema therapy, a practitioner’s guide, stands out as a manual that is as interesting as it is complete. In it, it not only offers the keys so that professionals can address the most complex personality disorders.

It also serves as a reflection exercise to understand that sometimes it is not good to make exclusive use of a single psychological school. Integrative approaches such as schema-focused therapy leverage the most effective resources from other schools for the benefit of the patient.. So let’s see what it consists of.

What objectives do you have?

This therapy seeks, as the word itself indicates, to identify the person’s dysfunctional schemas. that push him to think and behave in a way that is problematic and harmful to himself. To do this, apply the following guidelines:

Unlike the cognitive-behavioral school, does not use confrontation or guided discovery. It is based more on emotional and affective therapy. Likewise, it should be noted that more sessions are needed than in other types of therapies to achieve an adequate and firm alliance with the patient.Dysfunctional schemes that were established in childhood are sought.The professional tries to work on the patient’s sense of identity, their capacity for self-control, their emotional communication, autonomy and sense of competence.

For which patients is schema-focused therapy useful?

Schema-focused therapy is especially effective for all those disorders contained in Axis I of the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). They are the following clinical conditions:

Anxiety disorders. Mood disorders. Dissociative disorders.

Likewise, Jeffrey Young himself points out the following:

Schema-focused therapy is beneficial for all those people who cannot easily talk about their emotions., thoughts and feelings. Whenever there is a blockage or a strong refusal to do so, this approach will be useful. Patients with existential crises or even with low motivation for the therapy itself will also benefit.

The two pillars of schema-focused therapy

Schema-focused therapy works on two basic areas, two theoretical concepts that will be revealed little by little throughout each session. They are the following.

Identify the schemes that explain the behavior

Within cognitive-behavioral psychology, a schema is a pattern that determines the way we think and behave. Many of them lead us to discomfort, suffering and establishing everything from unhappy emotional relationships to leading a self-destructive lifestyle.

Jeffrey Young highlights the importance of understand what early life experiences are, and also discover what the patient’s emotional temperament is like. In this therapy the main focus is on the detection of these schemes and the dynamics that originated them.

The coping style

Based on what our schemes are like, We will apply one way or another of coping with the daily challenges and events that occur in our reality.. Dr. Young differentiated four types of problematic styles:

Avoidance, when we limit ourselves to fleeing and escaping from our responsibilities.Of abandonment. The person experiences sadness, fear and helplessness every time he has to face something, he feels incapable, empty and without any resources to face life. Something very common in the most resistant depressions.Counterattack style. In this case, the patient usually reacts with a certain violence or overstates everything that surrounds him. They are extreme responses to life’s everyday problems. This type of reality is common in borderline personality disorders.The last style is that of “defectivity”. It is a type of attribution where the patient feels “defective”, he perceives that there is something inadequate or failed in him to cope with his daily life.

On average, schema-focused therapy usually lasts about a year. It is a deep and laborious work that requires working in harmony with the patient. And so From this therapeutic connection, we seek to identify those problematic schemes that underpin the disorder or suffering of the person..

Later, and through Gestalt techniques, psychoanalysis, cognitive-behavioral therapy and emotional therapy, an attempt is made to redirect the person towards the construction of new, more valid, effective and, above all, healthy schemes. It is a type of therapy that is as interesting as it is useful in many cases.

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