Schema Therapy helps you understand the long-standing patterns, called schemas, that began as ways of coping when you were younger, and loosen their hold on your life now. I trained in Schema Therapy through an ISST-approved programme at the Dutch Institute for Schema Therapy, and I offer it online in English and Turkish from Amsterdam. A 50-minute session costs €90, and 90-minute sessions suit deeper schema work. We can start with a free 20-minute video call to see whether we are a good fit.
Written and reviewed by İlayda Aydın, Psychologist (MSc) · Last reviewed
- Session
- 50 minutes, €90
- Extended session
- 90 minutes, €135
- First step
- Free 20-minute intro call
- Languages
- English or Turkish
- Where
- Online over Google Meet, anywhere in the Netherlands
- Referral
- Not needed, and no waiting list
- Insurance
- Self-paid, not covered by basic insurance
What Schema Therapy is
Schema Therapy was developed by the psychologist Jeffrey Young. It brings together cognitive behavioural therapy, attachment theory and experiential techniques. The idea at its heart is simple: when core emotional needs such as safety, connection or freedom to be yourself went unmet early on, we develop patterns to survive. Those patterns once protected us, but later they can keep us stuck.
Who it can help
Schema Therapy is a good fit if you recognise the same pattern coming back, even after you have understood it in your head.
- A harsh inner critic, or a feeling of never being good enough
- People-pleasing, or putting others' needs above your own
- Perfectionism and unrelenting standards
- Relationships that keep following the same painful script
- Feeling different, alone or disconnected from others
- Earlier therapy or CBT that helped only partly
What sessions look like
We start by mapping your schemas and the modes you switch into when they are triggered, and by tracing where they began. Then we work with them, not only by talking but through techniques such as imagery rescripting and chair work, which reach the emotional side of a pattern that insight alone does not. Alongside that we practise new behaviour in your daily life.
- Schema Therapy
- CBT
- Mindfulness
Schema Therapy and CBT
CBT focuses on the thoughts and behaviours keeping a problem going now. Schema Therapy goes further back, to where those thoughts came from and what you needed at the time. In practice I combine the two: CBT for practical tools in the present, Schema Therapy for the deeper roots.
Frequently asked questions
It is often longer-term than CBT, because it works with patterns that have been around for years. We agree on goals together and review regularly, so the length fits what you want to change.
Yes. It has been studied in randomised trials, most extensively for long-standing emotional and relationship difficulties, and it is widely used in Dutch mental health care.
Yes. All my sessions, including imagery and chair work, are held online over Google Meet.
