Schema Therapy
Schema Therapy explains how early experiences shape core beliefs, emotional responses, coping mechanisms, and relationships — and how therapy helps people recognise and change these lifelong patterns.
About this service
Schema Therapy is a key area of therapeutic expertise for Franco. It is an integrative approach that combines elements of cognitive therapy, behavioural techniques, experiential work, and the psychodynamic understanding of attachment and childhood origins.
The central idea is that early maladaptive schemas — sometimes called 'lifetraps' — develop when core emotional needs are not adequately met in childhood or adolescence. These schemas are deep, self-defeating emotional patterns that shape how we see ourselves, others, and the world. They drive the recurring thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that keep people stuck.
Schema Therapy goes beyond symptom management. It works to identify and heal the underlying schemas, understand the coping modes that have developed around them, and build a stronger 'Healthy Adult' mode — the part of you that can make considered choices, set boundaries, and meet your own emotional needs.
The approach
- Identification of early maladaptive schemas such as abandonment, defectiveness, mistrust, emotional deprivation, and unrelenting standards
- Working with coping modes — surrender, avoidance, and overcompensation — that keep schemas in place
- Experiential techniques including imagery and chair work to access and repattern emotional memories
- Limited reparenting within the therapeutic relationship to meet unmet core emotional needs
- Building and strengthening the Healthy Adult mode for lasting emotional autonomy
Benefits
- Effective where short-term therapy has not produced lasting change
- Addresses the root causes of recurring relationship and life patterns, not just surface symptoms
- Builds lasting emotional resilience and a stronger sense of self
- Integrates cognitive, behavioural, experiential, and relational work in one coherent model
Who it's for
- People who notice the same patterns repeating across relationships, work, or life stages
- Those who have tried shorter-term therapy and found the changes did not hold
- Individuals with longstanding difficulties rooted in early experiences or attachment
- Anyone wanting to understand themselves more deeply, not simply manage symptoms
What to expect
- An initial assessment phase where we identify your schemas and coping modes together
- A blend of conversation, experiential work, and practical strategies tailored to your goals
- Sessions that build insight and emotional capacity over time, rather than a fixed manual
- A collaborative relationship where the therapy itself becomes a corrective experience
Questions about Schema Therapy
How long does Schema Therapy take?
Schema Therapy is typically a medium-to-longer-term approach because it works with deep-rooted patterns rather than surface symptoms. Many people begin to notice meaningful shifts within the first few months, with the full process often spanning six months to two years depending on your goals and history.
Is Schema Therapy evidence-based?
Yes. Schema Therapy has a substantial and growing evidence base, particularly for longstanding personality-related difficulties and chronic patterns where other therapies have not held. Franco is an Internationally Accredited Schema Therapist through the ISST.
How is Schema Therapy different from CBT?
CBT is present-focused and works with current thoughts and behaviours. Schema Therapy integrates CBT with attachment and psychodynamic insight to identify and heal the early schemas that drive recurring patterns across relationships and life. They are often combined.
Ready to explore schema therapy?
A free 15-minute call is the simplest way to find out whether this approach fits your needs. Every intake is personally triaged by Franco.
Other services
Explore the other therapeutic services Franco offers.
CBT
CBT helps people identify and change unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviours. It is structured, goal-oriented, and strongly supported by research for anxiety, depression, and a range of emotional difficulties.
Learn moreEMDR Trauma Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an important approach to trauma treatment. It helps people process distressing experiences and traumatic memories that continue to affect emotional wellbeing and daily functioning.
Learn moreIndividual Therapy
Individual therapy provides a confidential, reflective space to address anxiety, depression, self-esteem issues, relationship problems, and longstanding behavioural patterns — working towards meaningful change, not simply symptom management.
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