Schema Therapy Gold Coast
Schema therapy zeroes in on something called schemas. Think of schemas as the "glasses" we look through to see ourselves and the world. We start building these so-called "glasses" or belief systems when we're young. They are often shaped by our family and who or what we're exposed to.
Sometimes, these belief systems can get a little wonky. They're not quite right or they're not balanced. A child might learn that they always have to be flawless or they should never trust anyone, which can end up causing mental stress, anxiety or other issues.
Off-kilter belief systems can pop up for all sorts of reasons, and not all of them are traumatic. Schema therapy is a pretty fascinating way to look at what makes us, us.
Schema Therapy at Jeffers Psychology
Welcome to a place where your well-being matters the most. Childhood experiences can sometimes give rise to persistent negative thoughts, known as schemas, making life challenging. Failing to address these early enough could lead to unhelpful coping mechanisms, affecting your life negatively.
But here's the good news - schema therapy aims to help you manage your emotional needs positively and healthily. Our highly experienced schema therapy psychologist is ready to provide the support you need in a serene and secure environment.
We understand that battling the adverse effects of schemas can be a distressing journey. Hence, reaching out to a psychologist you can trust for schema therapy is essential. At Jeffers Psychology, we assure you’ll feel the understanding, empathetic approach and feel at home in our warm and safe environment.
Is it possible that you could experience a better life through schema therapy? Imagine it - identifying and breaking free from limiting thought patterns, equipping yourself to deal with life's challenges, and savouring life in its full richness!
Take that step today. Reach out to a local schema therapist in Broadbeach, Gold Coast.
Hannah is a psychologist with a passion for untangling life’s intricate threads. Dio the therapy dog is here for support. Your story is worth exploring, and we’re here to help you turn the page to a new chapter of well-being.
We provide care services for a diverse array of mental health presentations. Your mental well-being journey is deeply personal and we are here to help you navigate your path towards healing and resilience.
What are “maladaptive schemas”?
Having good mental health is considered to be where a person’s needs (safety, acceptance, autonomy, competence, stability, nurturance, identity, expression, spontaneity) are met in an adaptive manner.
Schemas are shortcuts, linking “true” things to save us from processing every little detail. The schemas we create are not always accurate, and there can be negative aspects that affect our core emotional being. It is these inaccurate, unhealthy schemas that we know as a maladaptive schema. The types of early maladaptive schemas include:
insufficient self-control/poor self-discipline/losing control
emotional inhibition
exaggerated focus on failures
impaired autonomy or dependence/incompetency
Demanding approval/seeking recognition
defectiveness coupled with shame
emotional deprivation
social isolation or alienation
vulnerability towards harm or illness
negativity/a pessimistic outlook
abandonment or instability
mistrust and abuse
lack in self-sacrifice
subjugation
entitlement/displaying grandiosity
Excessive emphasis on standards/hypercriticalness
enmeshment/undeveloped self
Punitiveness
The above list fits into 5 broad categories known as schema domains. These are:
Disconnection and rejection
Impaired autonomy and performance
Impaired limits
Other-directedness
Over vigilance and inhibition
Positive healthy adult mode
Our Schema therapy, Gold Coast-based for easy access, aims to replace unhealthy patterns of maladaptive coping styles with healthy coping responses in order to heal schemas. The schema therapy model aims to reach a positive “healthy adult mode” which is recognised as having the following:
Stable attachment
This encapsulates the understanding that your relationships are fortified; they are stable and long-lasting, providing you a sense of grounding.
Sense of Belonging
This underlines your belief of being accepted, that you are an integral part of various groups and have a sense of belonging within them.
Emotional Fulfilment
Implies that your life is graced with a person or people who nourish your emotional needs, offering you a sense of attachment, connection and an oasis of safety.
Autonomy
This asserts your belief of having grown past the protective boundaries of your parents, thereby equipping you to function effectively in day-to-day life while maintaining appropriate personal boundaries.
Competence
This encompasses the belief of being capable of handling daily tasks and challenges, thereby fostering overall competence.
Achievement
This embodies your belief of being proficient and adept at work or educational tasks, enabling you to feel successful.
Wholesome Self-Discipline
This speaks to your ability to adhere to routines and persevere towards achievement of difficult goals, showing a healthy self-discipline.
Empathetic Understanding
This belief instils a respectful outlook towards others, despite differing opinions and the acceptance to not always have things your way, thereby fostering tolerance and empathy.
Positive outlook
This belief is your optimism, the conviction that the outcomes would generally be in your favour.
Emotional Candidness
This is the freedom to express your feelings, to show warmth and fondness towards those who make you feel comfortable.
Self-directedness
Your belief in self-importance, the notion that your self-assessment is more crucial than impressing others.
Nourishing Self-Care
Your desire to dedicate time for self-care and consider your own needs to be a priority.
Grounded Ambitions
This belief helps you to set achievable goals and understand that it's completely fine to be 'good enough', fostering realistic expectations.
Intrinsic Kindness
The belief underlining that you deserve to treat yourself with compassion, kindness and forgiveness, nurturing self-compassion.
Vulnerable Child Mode
Here at the heart of schema therapy, we begin our journey of self-discovery by understanding one integral part of us, our 'vulnerable child mode'. This is our internal avatar of vulnerability, encapsulating feelings of fear, sadness and abandonment. Our vulnerable child mode mirrors our frailty as children - a time when our survival was interconnected with the ones nurturing us.
We learn to better manage our physical needs as we mature, yet emotional vulnerability lingers, maintaining its presence into our adult years. To some, acknowledging this state of constant emotional vulnerability is better understood through the lens of an 'inner child'. This concept is the linchpin of schema therapy – always present and always vulnerable.
Triggering our vulnerable child mode can ignite a variety of reactions to fulfill our emotional needs. These responses or 'modes' govern our current emotional state, facilitating the attainment of those needs. Cutting-edge research in schema therapy and behaviour has identified ten schema modes, fitting into four distinct groups: Child modes, Dysfunctional Coping modes, Dysfunctional Parent modes and the Healthy Adult mode.
Have you ever found yourself in a heated debate or a distressing situation and someone remarked, "you're behaving like a child"?
Unsurprisingly, our child modes often invoke feelings intense and raw like those we experienced as children. This could trigger an 'angry child' mode, a defensive mechanism activated when our vulnerable child's needs are unmet. Through the expression of anger and reactionary behaviour, this mode seeks to draw the attention of others towards our unmet needs.
Child modes emerge from the chasms of unmet emotional needs. Thus, the emotions we feel are intrinsically linked to our inner child modes.
Coping styles for schema modes
Have you ever wondered how you deal with the effects of emotional distress or unmet emotional needs from your formative years? Schema Therapy provides a powerful framework for understanding this.
It proposes the formation of schemas and modes as systems we construct to navigate the sometimes rocky terrain of early emotional distress. These intricate systems may manifest in three predominant coping styles, and it's likely you harness one or multiple of these to ease emotional discomfort:
Surrender: This style represents the acceptance of how you're treated, embodying the belief that this is the norm, or how things are meant to be.
Avoidance: In this mode, you may detach emotionally or physically from those causing you distress. Alternatively, you might disconnect from your own emotions to maintain a distance from perceived harm.
Overcompensation: Here, you may counter the schema by trying to disprove its validity. This might involve striving for perfection to evade feelings of inadequacy or seeking to control others to prevent being exploited.
How to Replace Maladaptive Coping Styles
The above 3 coping mechanisms can provide immediate relief from emotional pain. However, over time, they can perpetuate maladaptive schemas and modes. Those who tend to surrender may need assistance to resist mistreatment. Individuals who predominantly avoid may require support to build the bravery to confront their difficult emotions or trying situations. Those who overcompensate may need guidance to allow themselves to be vulnerable.
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Surrender: This might look like compliance or dependence, where one relies on others, gives in frequently, seeks affiliation, avoids conflict, or continuously aims to please others.
Schema avoidance: This could manifest as social withdrawal or excessive autonomy, where one leans toward isolation, disconnection or an overemphasis on independence. This could also involve private activities such as excessive TV watching, reading or solitary tasks.
Sometimes one might resort to compulsive stimulation-seeking, lured by excitement or distraction provided by compulsive shopping, gambling, risk-taking or physical activities.
Alternatively, addictive self-soothing techniques may be used, involving addictions like alcohol, drugs, overeating or excessive masturbation.
Lastly, psychological withdrawal might be used as a coping mechanism, involving dissociation, numbness, denial, fantasy or other internal forms of psychological refuge.
Your journey towards understanding your coping style has only just begun, and we welcome you into a therapeutic relationship to navigate this path together.
Other Care Services We Offer
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Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is like a friendly chat with your minds personal coach. Its all about understanding the connection between your thoughts, feelings and actions. In a relaxed and supportive setting, we’ll work together to tackle life’s challenges head on.
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Animal Therapy
We believe that everything gets a little brighter with animals in the mix! Having a therapy animal can lift your spirits, ease anxiety, and help you open up in ways that might not happen with just human interaction. If you're seeking an unconditional, judgement-free source of support during your therapy sessions, animal-assisted therapy could be perfect for you.
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PTSD Treatment
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment is about finding what works best for you to regain control over your life. Weather it be chronic or complex, we can work through any PTSD concerns together.
Support from animals through animal therapy and connecting with others who understand what you’re going through can also be incredibly helpful.
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Music Therapy
Is all about using music intentionally to boost your mental well-being, helping you relax, unwind and find your groove again.
The best part? You don’t need to be a musical prodigy to benefit. Whether you’re strumming a guitar or just hitting play on your favourite playlist, music therapy offers a fun and effective way to manage your mental health.
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Depression & Anxiety Therapy
Together, you can learn practical strategies to cope with stress, negative thoughts and overwhelming emotions. Develop relaxation techniques, change unhelpful thought patterns and set realistic goals for feeling better.
Explore your emotions and work towards long-lasting positive changes in how you handle life’s challenges.
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Childhood Trauma Therapy
Understanding how childhood trauma has affected you and your relationships; find ways to cope with difficult emotions, developing healthier ways of thinking.
Use this safe space to process painful memories, build resilience, and work towards feeling more in control and at peace in your daily life.
Choosing Schema Therapy or CBT
The realms of abandonment or instability, ingrained mistrust or past abuse, and emotional deprivation echo some of the complicated issues confronting many individuals today. This is where therapies like Schema Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) come into play.
Cognitive therapy has been rigorously examined and is widely accepted as a trusted form of psychotherapy. Its primary objective is to transform harmful thought patterns. By doing so, it aims to avert distressing feelings or unfavourable behaviours. Schema Therapy shares this objective too, although CBT has attracted more research attention.
While CBT primarily fixates on tackling present-day problems, it never undermines the influence of childhood or past traumas. However, these issues are not its principal focus. The therapy centres more on imparting practical skills that can help in managing day-to-day life challenges.
For some individuals, this approach works perfectly. However, for those grappling with more enduring or persistent symptoms, they may feel the need to explore and address their root causes in depth. In such cases, they might lean towards schema therapy.
Schema therapy for borderline personality disorder
Within the nurturing approach of schema-focused therapy for individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, the first pivotal steps involve understanding the patient's specific schemas. These schemas, which are essentially our mental roadmaps, are thoroughly explored to relate them to past experiences, events and the present symptoms experienced by the patient.
In the safe and supportive space created within therapy, the patient delves deeper into their emotional processes tied to identified schemas. They collaboratively work towards shifting from harmful coping styles and negative patterns that could be a result of maladaptive schemas, which are detrimental schemas potentially triggering symptoms in BPD.
Both the therapist and the patient engage in various focused exercises. They may cultivate techniques for releasing pent-up anger, dismantling destructive behavioural patterns and transforming unhelpful thought processes. This journey is designed to promote healthier ways of managing emotions towards healthier thought and behaviour patterns.
This therapeutic journey is an empathetic, compassionate and integral part of the healing process. It encourages the transformation from within, fostering a healthier and more balanced emotional life for those experiencing borderline personality disorder.
Where to find Schema Therapy Gold Coast-based
If schema focused therapy is sounding like the active techniques you need, book with Jeffers Psychology for schema therapy in Broadbeach, Gold Coast. Unearth those unmet core needs and begin replacing maladaptive schemas with healthier adaptive patterns.