Certification Program
In
Schema Therapy
Schema
Therapy Institute Midwest
George
Lockwood, Ph.D., Director
Program Overview
The Schema Therapy Institute Midwest is pleased to
announce its Certification Program in Schema Therapy (CPST). This program will
provide intensive, individualized training over a one or two-year period,
leading to a diploma documenting that the candidate is a Certified Standard or
Advanced Level Schema Therapist in the International Society for Schema Therapy
(ISST).
The curriculum includes a series of workshops in
Kalamazoo, Michigan; weekly or bi-weekly supervision sessions (by telephone,
Skype, or in-person); readings and DVDÕs; and periodic ratings of patient sessions.
The training program, under the direction of George Lockwood, Ph.D., is
conducted by a highly experienced faculty of supervisors with extensive
experience in schema therapy. This training program will be conducted in
cooperation with other certified schema therapy training programs throughout
the world.
The Certification Program in Schema Therapy is
appropriate for experienced mental health professionals and is open to
professionals with doctoral or masterÕs level degrees in mental health fields.
Applicants should have intermediate or advanced levels of general psychotherapy
experience; have attended at least 3 days of workshops in Schema Therapy; and
have read ÒSchema Therapy: A PractitionerÕs Guide.Ó Additional criteria for
admission are described in the Application Process section below. Admission is
competitive.
Benefits of Certification
Once you become a Certified, Advanced Level Schema Therapist and join
the International Society for Schema Therapy (ISST), in addition to being able
to use schema therapy techniques to help patients or in research, you will have
access to a variety of professional opportunities, including:
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You may represent yourself as a Standard or
Advanced Level Certified Schema Therapist with patients, in other professional
academic settings, or in brochures and marketing materials.
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If you complete the Advanced Level program,
you will be able to offer many types of Schema Therapy Workshops and
supervision, depending on the criteria set by the International Society for
Schema Therapy. These will be endorsed by the Institute, so long as you follow
Institute and ISST guidelines.
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You will be included in the Institute and
ISST referral networks so long as you pay annual ISST dues and meet any
continuing education requirements that may be necessary. The Institute and ISST
will recommend you when we receive requests for schema therapists from
patients, therapists, researchers, or institutions in your area.
About Schema Therapy
Schema therapy is an innovative, integrated
therapeutic approach, originally developed as an expansion of traditional cognitive-behavioral
treatments. The schema approach draws from cognitive-behavioral therapy,
attachment theory, psychodynamic concepts, and emotion-focused therapies. In
comparison to cognitive-behavioral therapy, schema therapy emphasizes lifelong
patterns, affective change techniques, and the therapeutic relationship, with
special emphasis on limited reparenting.
Schema therapy is particularly well-suited for
difficult, resistant clients with entrenched, chronic psychological disorders,
including personality disorders (such as BPD and narcissism), eating disorders,
intractable couples problems, and criminal offenders. It is also effective for
relapse prevention in depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. The results of
a major comparative outcome study have shown schema therapy to be highly effective
with a large percentage of outpatients with Borderline Personality Disorder,
with a low dropout rate. Clients who have spent years gaining valuable insight
with psychodynamic treatments, but who are frustrated by their lack of
progress, often respond well to the active, systematic, flexible, and
depth-oriented schema approach.
About the Institute and Its Founder
The Schema Therapy Institute Midwest was developed
in response to the rapidly increasing international interest in schema therapy.
The InstituteÕs director, George Lockwood, Ph.D., is a Founding Fellow of the
Academy of Cognitive Therapy, serves on the board of the International Society
for Schema Therapy, and is certified in both cognitive therapy and schema
therapy.
Dr. Lockwood has led workshops in schema therapy
for over 15 years in both the United States and Europe. He consistently
receives outstanding evaluations. Dr. Lockwood is a long time collaborator with Dr. Jeffrey
Young, the founder of Schema Therapy, and has participated in the development
of Schema Therapy over the past 27 years.
He completed a post doctoral fellowship in cognitive therapy under the
supervision of Aaron T. Beck in 1982 and has extensive training in
psychoanalytic psychotherapy and object-relations approaches. He has written a number of articles on
cognitive and schema therapy, and was involved in the conception of ÒSchema
Therapy: A Practitioners GuideÓ.
The Schema Therapy Institute Midwest was
established to provide training to mental health practitioners, and to promote
research on schema theory and treatment. The Institute is certified by the ISST
to offer training programs in line with international guidelines.
Key Components & Requirements of the Program
The requirements of the Certification Program are
listed below. These requirements are subject to change, depending on guidelines set
by ISST.
1.
Two or three intensive weekend workshops in Kalamazoo, Michigan; each
three days in length.
2.
20 or 40 hours of individual supervision sessions (depending on your
level), each 45-50 minutes in length, conducted by telephone, in person, or via
video conferencing (if equipment is available). The supervision sessions must
continue for at least one year on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
3.
3 to 5 video or audio recordings, or transcripts, of patient therapy
sessions, to be submitted at regular intervals, each accompanied by a completed
Schema Case Conceptualization Form. The final 1 or 2 session ratings will be
scored by an independent rater other than the supervisor.
4.
Readings and DVDÕs directly related to schema therapy, as well as other
readings that provide a broad conceptual background in a variety of approaches
relevant to the schema model.
5.
Each trainee must treat a specified number of patients, depending on
your level, utilizing primarily schema therapy. More details will be provided later regarding appropriate
types of patients.
Weekend Workshops
Workshops will be held
in Kalamazoo, Michigan over two or three long weekends (Friday, Saturday &
Monday).
Weekend workshops will include a combination of
teaching methods, such as lectures, handouts, videotapes of master schema
therapists, live demonstrations, question-and-answer periods, group
discussions, supervised practice in dyads, discussion of superviseesÕ own
schemas and childhood histories, and small group exercises.
Some of the topics that may be covered during the
workshop days include:
Theory and conceptual model: key terms and concepts
from schema theory; group imagery exercise to identify the participantsÕ own
schemas; discussion of the 18 specific schemas.
Assessment and education: multiple techniques
for assessing and activating schemas and coping styles; educating the client
about schemas; scoring and interpretation of schema inventories; activating
schemas with experiential techniques, including emotive imagery; assessing
schemas in the therapy relationship.
Cognitive techniques: building a case
against schemas and coping styles; schema dialogues; developing flashcards.
Emotion-focused techniques: emotional change
through venting, imagery, dialogues, and letters to parents; breaking through
common therapeutic impasses.
Utilizing the therapy relationship for change: limited reparenting;
analyzing schemas when triggered in sessions.
Behavioral pattern-breaking: selecting appropriate
partners; graded assignments; empathic confrontation; overcoming avoidance of
trigger situations.
Mode work: rationale for utilizing schema modes with more
severe cases: reviewing common modes for specific disorders; mode work for
clients who canÕt experience emotions; techniques for changing modes; dealing
with angry, clinging, critical, and help-rejecting clients. A detailed protocol
for mode work with borderline and narcissistic patients will be presented.
Special topics: Schema therapy for Borderline Personality
Disorder (BPD), narcissism, and sociopathy; adapting the model for work with
couples; group schema therapy; relapse prevention for substance abuse; the
therapistsÕ own schemas; discussion of other problems and disorders, depending
on the interests of the participants and faculty.
Individualized Case Supervision
Candidates will receive 20
or 40 hours of individual case supervision, on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, depending
on how they pay their tuition.
Regular supervision will
provide an opportunity for intensive, individualized feedback and mentoring,
tailored to each candidateÕs specific needs. Supervision will include case
conceptualization, treatment planning, practicing specific techniques, and, on
a limited basis, a few sessions can be devoted to helping candidates heal their
own schemas that may be interfering with treatment. Some sessions will be
devoted to discussion of the supervisorÕs feedback and ratings of recorded
patient sessions submitted by the candidate.
Discussion of Patient Therapy
Sessions
Candidates will be
required to submit video or audio recordings, or transcripts, of therapy
sessions on a regular basis throughout the program. Supervisors will rate each
session using the STCS (Schema Therapist Competency Scale) and will provide
detailed feedback during regularly scheduled supervision sessions.
Tuition and Other Costs
Tuition is $4900 USD for the Standard
Certification program, and $7900 USD for the Advanced Level
Certification program.
Candidates may choose to
have the supervision sessions and session ratings spread out over either a one
or two-year period. For candidates who complete the program in one year,
tuition is payable in two installments: one upon acceptance into the program,
and the second about halfway through the program. For candidates who choose to
complete the program over a two-year time period, tuition is payable in four
installments: one upon acceptance into the program, and the next three
installments at approximately 6-month intervals. Payments may be made by check,
credit card (MasterCard or VISA). If an institution is paying your tuition, the
Institute will provide invoices at approximately six-month intervals upon your
request.
Candidates will be responsible for all travel
expenses to Kalamazoo, Michigan, including airfare, lodging, and meals (and
will make all of their own travel arrangements). Candidates will also pay all
telephone charges for supervision, and postage for the mailing of tapes, DVDÕs,
or session transcripts. Trainees will be required to purchase a relatively
inexpensive digital audio recorder made by Zoom if they plan to make audio
recordings of sessions.
Partial scholarships or
tuition reductions may be available to trainees in need.
Application Process
We plan to accept up to 8 applicants, depending on
the availability of supervisors and the quality of applicants. The application
process will consist of the following:
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Completion of the application form;
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Submission of a recent curriculum vitae;
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Proof of professional licensure or certification in your state, if
required;
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At least two letters of recommendation from mental health professionals
who know your clinical work;
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The optional provision of any other material that you think may be of
help in the evaluation process.
Selection
Criteria
We will make our selection of candidates based
primarily on the following criteria:
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Evidence of a high level of prior interest in schema therapy, as
demonstrated by research, clinical, and/or training experience in schema
therapy.
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Previous general clinical training and experience, demonstrating
personal qualities that would contribute to your becoming an effective schema
therapist.
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Your letters of recommendation.
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Your level of interest in, and potential opportunities for, training
new schema therapists after completion of the program. These include your
current professional position or appointment, seniority, reputation, and
professional credentials.
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Geographic diversity.
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Your level of interest in, and ability to conduct, research on schema
therapy in the future, especially outcome studies.
Contact
Information
Mailing
Address:
Attn:
Certification Program
Schema
Therapy Institute Midwest
471
West South Street, 41C
Kalamazoo,
MI 49007
Phone: 269-345-8100 (Call only Monday
through Friday, from 9am until 4pm, EST time)
Email: training@schematherapymidwest.com
For more information about schema therapy, including
training program updates, please visit www.schematherapymidwest.com
There
is no fee to apply. If you have questions about the program, please call or
email us.
We look forward to receiving your application. Once your materials have been reviewed, you will be contacted regarding your application