Certification in Schema Therapy - Group

Certification in Group Schema Therapy

The Schema Therapy Institute Australia (STIA) offers practitioners specialized training in Group Schema Therapy. STIA is one of the few providers in Australia to offer both training and certification in this field. The workshops offered contribute towards certification in Schema Therapy, covering the mandatory curriculum as outlined by the International Society for Schema Therapy (ISST) for Group Schema Therapy.

STIA’s Group Schema Therapy training program is fully accredited by the ISST. Below is a series of workshops that provide trainees with the required didactic and dyadic hours for Group Schema Therapy certification.

Workshop One:

Group Schema Therapy - The Basics Training

Workshop Two:

Group Schema Therapy – Advanced Methods Core Training

Workshop Three:

Group Schema Therapy - Self - Reflective Practice - Core Training

Workshop 1: Group Schema Therapy the Basics Training Components include:

Introduction to the Group Schema Therapy (GST) Model

  • Core Concepts:

    • Co-therapist limited reparenting – understanding the dynamic ("learning the dance") and recognizing signals.

    • Preparing patients for group therapy.

    • Establishing safety, building connections, and setting the therapeutic framework.

    • Balancing structure and patient mode matching.

    • Differentiating between goals and plans in therapy, utilizing "opportunity work."

  • Schema Therapy (ST) Education in Group Context:

    • Conceptualizing problems through ST mode frameworks within a group setting.

    • Translating individual issues into ST group concepts.

    • Addressing practical considerations, such as setting, timing, and logistics.

    Group Interventions for Maladaptive Coping Modes and Healthy Adult Mode

  • Mode Awareness and Management:

    • Overcoming Detached Protector Mode, using empathic confrontation, and setting limits for Overcompensating Modes.

    • Pro & con cognitive and experiential work (including mode role-play experiences to highlight negative effects).

  • Interventions:

    • Group mode dialogues and role-plays (also known as mode dialogues).

    • Facilitating the Healthy Adult Mode using the group as a reflective tool, fostering a sense of competence.

Group Interventions for Child Modes and the Good Parent Mode

  • Healing and Channelling:

    • Healing the Vulnerable Child, channelling the Angry Child, and setting limits for the Impulsive Child.

    • Fostering the Happy Child Mode through basic group imagery, anger release, and play.

  • Working with the Punitive and Demanding Parent Modes:

    • Banishing the Punitive Parent and moderating the Demanding Parent Mode.

    • Incorporating the Good Parent component within the Healthy Adult Mode.

  • Experiential Work:

    • Using Good Parent imagery to externalize the Dysfunctional Parent Modes (DyPM) as "not me."

    • Facilitating mode dialogues with DyPM.

      Hours:

      • 10 didactic hours, 8 dyadic hours.

Workshop 2: Group Schema Therapy – Advanced Methods Core Training Components Include:

Advanced GST for Dysfunctional Parent Modes and Healthy Adult Mode

  • Focus Areas:

    • Addressing Dysfunctional Parent Modes and fostering the Healthy Adult Mode.

    • Advanced work with Maladaptive Coping Modes, particularly Avoidant and Overcompensating modes (e.g., Bully-Attack).

    • Techniques for limit setting with Angry, Impulsive, and Enraged Child Modes.

    • Incorporating advanced group work for healing the Vulnerable Child through play and nurturing the Happy Child.

Advanced GST for Maladaptive Coping Modes

  • Focus Areas:

    • Deepening work with Maladaptive Coping Modes, including Advanced Limited Reparenting and Empathic Confrontation techniques.

    • Advanced Imagery Rescripting for Personality Disorders (e.g., BPD, AvPD, and mixed groups).

    • Addressing identity work for severe Personality Disorders.

    • Confrontation and limit setting strategies for extreme coping responses.

Advanced GST for the Child Modes

  • Focus Areas:

    • Advanced interventions for healing the Vulnerable Child.

    • Channelling and setting boundaries for the Angry, Impulsive, and Enraged Child Modes.

    • Tailoring parenting styles to specific patient groups and facilitating healthy play to foster healing.

    • Strengthening the Healthy Adult component in group work to support the healing process.

  • Hours:

    • 9 Didactic; 9 Dyadic Hours

Workshop 3: Group Schema Therapy Self - Reflective Practice - Core Training Components Experiencing Schema Therapy from the Inside Out;

  • Focus Areas:

    Participants will have the opportunity to experience Group Schema Therapy (GST) interventions firsthand from the “inside out” with an emphasis on Personal Practice.

  • Hours:

    • 4 didactic hours

    • 2 role-play hours

The six hours can either be applied towards meeting the group certification requirement or counted as 3 hours of self-therapy, which can replace 3 hours of individual Schema Therapy supervision.