Therapist Training

SCHEMA THERAPY

Introductory Workshop

"We teach what we practice, we practice what we teach."

Page updated 4 April 2013. Click your browser's Refresh button to ensure you get the latest information.

This workshop is Certified by the International Society of Schema Therapy as forming part of a Certified Training in Schema Therapy.
All workshops conducted in accord with our Terms and Conditions of Service.


Perth 27, 28 May 2013. Murdoch University, South Street Murdoch. Click Here to Register.

Brisbane 2, 3 June 2013. George William Hotel, 317 George St. Brisbane. Click Here to Register.

Sydney 29, 30 July Harbour View Hotel, North Sydney Click Here to Register.

Melbourne 31 July, 1 August 2013 Treacey Center, 126 The Avenue, Parkville. Click Here to Register.


Fee: EARYBIRD Fee $550 up to 3 weeks before date of workshop. STANDARD Fee $594 after that. $100 discount for Full Time students. Contact us with proof of Full Time status to receive the discount code BEFORE registering. All workshops run 9.00 to 5.00.

Melbourne & Sydney March workshops and Brisbane are conducted by Graham Taylor, Melb & sydney July by Dr Chris Lee.

Click Here for Essential Pre-Workshop Material

BACKGROUND: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) enjoys its popularity mainly from its proven success in treating problems such as depression, PTSD and anxiety disorders. Its application to the treatment of personality disorders, chronic depression or anxiety, and “borderline” conditions has until recently been problematic both at a practical and theoretical level. These client populations present with broad ranging problems, and any therapy is often difficult ( click here for a discussion as to why clients with chronic difficulties struggle with traditional CBT).

Schema therapy was derived from traditional CBT and incorporates practices from other psychotherapies, including psychodynamic, emotional focused therapy, and Gestalt. It differs from traditional CBT in five substantive ways. Compared to traditional short term cognitive therapy, SFT places more emphasis on: childhood origins of problems and working directly with associated memories; 2) use of identified core schemas to drive formulation and treatment; 3) the use of experiential or affect-based techniques; 4) use of the therapy relationship to assess psychological themes and provide corrective experiences; and 5) use of 'mode' theory.

We are actively involved in research on Schema Therapy. As of April 2012 our 1999 publication has been cited 144 times. In 2010, Chris was awarded a $100,000 Rotary grant to administer the Australian sites of an international multi-site randomised control trial (RCT) for schema focused therapy. At this stage it appears that when all the international sites pool their data, it will be the largest RCT of a psychotherapy ever undertaken.

In This workshop you will:

• review the extensions of cognitive behaviour therapy by Aaron Beck and Jeffrey Young
• review current state of evidence on schema focused therapy including research conducted by the presenter
• learn how to assess the key developmental tasks of childhood, and how these affect schema development
• learn a range of ways to assess problematic schemas and practice these in small group exercises
• explore the methods by which clients subtly maintain their self defeating schemas
• learn how to challenge client's schema maintaining strategies
• practice emotive, interpersonal, cognitive and behavioural interventions designed to regulate emotions
• learn experiential interventions to highlight the link between current emotions and earlier learning
• develop practical strategies to consolidate emerging beliefs which are more adaptive
• receive extensive background notes and client handouts

Working with Difficult Clients (Schema Focused Therapy). Schema Focused Therapy was first described in 1989 by Dr Jeffrey Young. His website contains much useful information for both clients and therapists. The site can be a bit confusing, but will repay a thorough browsing.

Other relevant resources:

Beck, A.T., Freeman, A., Davis, D. (2004). Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders 2nd edition, New York, Guildford Press.
McKay, M. And P. Fanning. (1991). Prisoners of Belief: Exposing and Changing Beliefs That Control Your Life. New Harbinger.
Lee, C.W., Taylor, G., and Dunn J. (1999) Factor Structure of the Schema Questionnaire in Large Clinical Sample. Cognitive Research and Therapy.
Young, J.E., & Klosko, J. (1993). Reinventing Your Life. New York: Dutton.
Young, J.E., Klosko, J.S., & Weishaar, M.E. (2003). Schema therapy: A Practitioner's Guide. New York, Guilford Press.