Schema therapy (also SFT “Schema focussed Therapy”) was developed by Dr. Jeffrey Young at Columbia University, New York. Eckhard Roediger brought the concept to Germany. Like many of his colleagues, Young experienced that the highly-effective cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) did not work well enough for patients with personality disorders.  He, therefore, developed Schema Therapy, integrated various psychotherapeutic concepts and schools (Gestalt-therapy, Hypnotherapy, psychodynamic therapies) and gave them a common structure. Specific training elements help clients to easily transfer results from the therapy session into their everyday lives.

Schema therapy is highly efficient for working on emotional difficulties that date back to past events and experiences. 18 schemas (e.g. emotional deprivation, dependence, or insufficient self-control) help therapist and client to structure the therapeutic process. Further work is done by identifying so-called “modes”, which can best be described as changing parts of our personality (the controlled, the over-adapted, the high-sensation seeker). Clients learn to detect these modes in their day-to-day lives and to cope with them effectively. These structured elements form the basis of a successful psychotherapeutic process.

I also use elements of Schema therapy for business coaching or in couples counseling to help unblock emotional barriers or to better understand inner psychological conflicts. Often these tools assist in improving the understanding of client’s experiences in difficult situations and in changing behaviors. My goal as a therapist is to set my clients free from unwanted barriers and to give them more options to choose from.


Schema therapy

Einführung in die SFT in German: Introduction to Schema therapy
Training by Nils Svensson for prison helpers at Mann-O-Meter in Berlin on 19. November 2013
PDF-Document [976.2 KB]


Schema therapyVergleich von SFT und Übertragungsfokussierter Therapie bei Borderlinepatienten in German: Comparison of Schema therapy and transference focussed therapy in the treatment of borderline patients
Paper at International Psychoanalytic University Berlin for Prof. Benigna Gerisch
PDF-Document [296.2 KB]

Book recommendation for Schema therapy clients:

Jeffrey E. Young: Reinventing Your Life: The Breakthrough Program to End Negative Behavior and Feel Great Again.


Further Information: