Eligibility Criteria to begin UK, ISST-Approved

Schema Therapy Training Programmes - Minimum Standards 

 

Anyone can join our workshops, but if you would like to become certified in schema therapy, the certification programme is only open to candidates who are already qualified practitioners allowed to provide one-to-one psychological therapy to clients.  Such candidates will have graduated from a counselling, psychotherapy or applied psychology training programme run by an approved professional body. The training programme will have included research and significant amounts of supervised one-to-one clinical practice within the adult population, culminating in accreditation of that regulatory body, conferring the right to practice one-to-one therapy.

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The candidate, both as a schema therapy trainee and later as an accredited schema therapist must be, and then continue to be a fully accredited member of the regulatory body that accredited the training programme they attended which in turn conferred the right to practice one-to-one therapy, and their clinical practice will continue to be regulated by it.  Currently, training and regulatory bodies recognised by UK, ISST-Approved Schema Therapy Training Programmes are the BABCP, BACP and BPS. Being fully accredited to such a body before embarking on a schema therapy training programme leading to accreditation as a schema therapist will also facilitate gaining and maintaining the required Professional Indemnity Insurance.  Proof of accreditation to one of these bodies will be required by the directors of training programmes and by the ISST.  Psychologists should be registered with the Health Care & Professions Council (HCPC) and continue to be registered both as a trainee schema therapist and as an accredited schema therapist.

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Applicants are expected to be academically capable of following the rigorous accreditation route for schema therapy and they must hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

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Applications for UK certification programmes will be scrutinised on a case-by-case basis.  Applicants will be required to produce detailed evidence to the UK Training Programme Director and possibly later to the ISST of their eligibility to join a training programme leading to accreditation as a schema therapist.  This includes:

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1. Full Accreditation to the BABCP

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OR

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2. At least Individual Counsellor/Psychotherapist Accreditation to the BACP

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OR

 

3. Eligibility for chartered membership of the BPS within one of the following divisions:

1. Clinical Psychology

2. Counselling Psychology

3. Forensic Psychology

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If you do not meet these criteria, please get in touch to discuss submission of a portfolio to gain eligibility to join the certification programme. 

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Psychologist applicants must also be registered with the HCPC. If accepted for training onto a UK, ISST-approved schema therapy training programme the candidate, both as a schema therapy trainee and later as an accredited schema therapist, must be and continue to be a fully accredited member of that regulatory body and their clinical practice will be regulated by it.

 

Why become certified in Schema Therapy?

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Schema therapy is a very powerful psychological therapy, with a good evidence base for its effectiveness with complex and chronic mental health difficulties. It’s a multifaceted model that requires both training and regular

supervision to implement correctly and effectively.  A financial and time investment is required, but the benefits to personal and professional development are significant. 

  

Benefits of Certification in Schema Therapy

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• Schema Therapy is a reputable, evidence based psychological therapy recommended in the NICE guidelines for borderline personality disorder. 

• Certification ensures the public can trust you have undergone a rigorous process to deliver schema therapy with adherence to the model and evidence base.

• This transdiagnostic model will greatly enhance your formulation of all psychological difficulties. 

• Schema therapy provides a model to formulate complex relational dynamics that arise inside and outside of the therapy room

• You will develop competence in trauma processing techniques that can be graded to manage emotional dysregulation

• Schema therapy promotes an authentic, emotionally connected therapeutic relationship. 

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Requirements for Certification

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The International Society of Schema Therapy is the accrediting body for schema therapists. These are the requirements for certification in schema therapy. 

 

Standard Certification

 

• 40 hours of training workshops with an ISST-Approved Schema Therapy Training Programme.

• 20 hours of individual supervision over at least a year on a regular basis. 

• 2 audio or video recordings of schema therapy sessions, all accompanied by a case conceptualisation to be reviewed by your supervisor. One session recording rated by an independent rater, receiving a minimum average score of 4.0 on the schema therapy competency rating scale. 

• A minimum of 2 cases treated with schema therapy for at least 25 hours each. One case must have  a diagnosis of ‘personality disorder’ or have significant ‘personality disorder’ features and one case must be appropriate for schema mode work due to complication, chronicity, failure to respond to treatment or relapse. At least 80 hours of schema therapy provided across all clients. 

• Membership of the ISST

 

Advanced Certification

 

• 40 hours of training workshops with an ISST-Approved Schema Therapy Training Programme. 

• 40 hours of individual supervision over at least a year on a regular basis. 

• 4 audio or video recordings of schema therapy sessions, all accompanied by a case conceptualisation to be reviewed by supervisor.

• Two session recordings rated by an independent rater, receiving a minimum average score of 4.5 on the schema competency rating scale. 

• A minimum of 4 cases treated with schema therapy for at least 25 hours each. One case must have a diagnosis of ‘personality disorder’ or have significant ‘personality disorder’ features and one case must be appropriate for schema mode work due to complication, chronicity, failure to respond to treatment or relapse. A total of 160 hours of schema therapy provided across all clients. 

• Membership of the ISST

 

For full details and to ensure your understanding of the requirements is up to date, please see the requirements on ISST website.

 

If you would like to join our ISST-Approved Schema Therapy Training Programme email

schematherapyworks@gmail.com