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Mainz Schema Therapy Training Program

The Institute for Psychotherapie in Mainz (ipsti-mz), along with the Schema Therapy Training Program, was established in 2010. The Mainz Group Schema Therapy Program was certified by ISST in 2012. We established specific workshops for forensic psychotherapists, as of 2014, and added auxiliary professional workshops as of 2015.

The Mainz Schema Therapy Training Program Directors are Friederike Vogel and Neele Reiss. The program consists of many additional external ISST certified trainers and supervisors who provide specific workshops, giving trainees an opportunity to be exposed to many different "role models" applying schema therapy. 

Please review the many workshops we offer, and register on our website at:  http://www.ipsti-mz.de/events/

Neele Reiss and Friederike Vogel: Training Program Directors


Description of Workshops

Trainer-Supervisor Workshop (ISST certified):

The trainer-supervisor workshop is required for certification as a trainer supervisor. This is the webinar that covers the ISST requirements for training and supervision that counts toward certification. Additionally, participants will learn how to deal with difficult situations in supervision.

If you are close to completing the requirements for Advanced level ST certification you may attend the webinar since it is given at most twice a year in English and once a year in German.

Advanced Methods: Skills development as a Schema Therapy Supervisor

This is a workshop for ISST certified Schema Therapy supervisors, who wish to develop their supervising skills. Difficult situations in supervision will be presented and tips given on how to deal with these situations. Additionally, participants are welcome to bring up their own difficulties in supervision situations. These difficulties will be discussed and solutions practiced in role plays.

Supervision Workshop:

Participants can bring their own cases (including videomaterial of sessions), discuss the schema therapy treatment conceptualization, specific techniques applied or specific difficult situations in the treatment room with a Schema Therapy supervisor. Difficult situations can be practiced in role plays with the supervisor.

Case conceptualization and Schema Therapy treatment in the forensic patients (focus on Cluster B Personality Disorder):

This workshop specifically focuses on difficult treatment situations with patients from a forensic setting or inmates. A focus will be on patients with a Cluster B personality disorder, especially Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Advanced Methods: Imagery Rescripting

This is a workshop for practioners, who want to broaden their knowledge on imagery rescripting for different patient populations and in different settings.

Self Therapy Workshop:

This workshops focuses on schemas and modes activated in psychotherapists by their patients. Every participant will have time to work on their own schemas and modes that get activated in the treatment room with different techniques used in Schema Therapy.

Schema therapy for Cluster C Personality Disorders

Schema Therapy (ST) is developed for patients with personality disorders and chronic Axis I disorders, who do not profit from regular CBT. ST was first extensively tested in Borderline PD with remarkable results (Giesen-Bloo et. al 2006).  But many therapists more often see patients with cluster-C personality disorders, who are quite rigid in their avoidance and obsessional patterns. This workshop will present the schema-mode models of cluster-C personality disorders and the main Schema Therapy techniques that can be used to address these modes. The workshop leaders will demonstrate some of the major techniques and participants can practice in pairs. 

Advanced Methods: Empathic Confrontation in Schema Therapy

This is a workshop for clinicans, who want to broaden their knowledge on empathic confrontation for different patient populations and in different settings. A special focus will be on difficulties such as suicidality and overcompensating coping modes.

Introduction to Schema Therapy:

This is a basic introduction workshop focusing on the general concept of modes and schemas. Case conceptualizations in Schema Therapy will be practiced in the workshop and demonstrations of how the case conceptualization can be done with a patient are given. Participants can practice their newly developed skills in role-plays.

Introduction to Schema Therapy in the forensic setting:

This is a basic introduction workshop focusing on the general concept of modes and schemas with a focus on forensic patients. Case conceptualizations in Schema Therapy will be practiced in the workshop and demonstrations of how the case conceptualization can be done with a patient are given, all focusing on forensic patient examples. Participants can practice their newly developed skills in role-plays.

Schema Therapy Treatment Strategies

This workshop focuses on cognitive, behavioral and experiential treatment strategies used in Schema Therapy. A special focus will be on imagery rescripting and chair techniques.

Difficult treatment situations for auxiliary therapists

This workshop is especially designed for auxiliary therapists, who work in a treatment team and wish to use Schema Therapy treatment strategies in their setting and with their specific treatment population. Short interventions that auxiliary professionals can use in their specific setting will be discussed and practiced in role-plays.

Working with the therapeutic relationship and empathic confrontation in Schema Therapy

This workshop focuses on the therapy relationship defined as a method of intervention as well as empathic confrontation of coping modes used in Schema Therapy. Demonstrations will be given. Participants can practice their newly developed skills in role-plays.

Workshop Descriptions Continued

Schema Therapy for Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Narcissists are notoriously difficult clients—often intelligent, charming, and self-confident—they also tend to be arrogant, condescending, incapable of empathy, and possessed with a sense of entitlement. While interesting and challenging, they can also make you feel downright uneasy...

In this seminar, we’ll discuss:

•      Schema Therapy, an evidenced-based, active, and integrated treatment approach that focuses on changing lifelong, biased emotional and self-defeating behavioral patterns through cognitive restructuring, balanced attachment, limited re-parenting work, behavioral-skills training, and experiential techniques.

•      How to use empathic confrontation to gain and maintain leverage in therapy and avoid power struggles with narcissists

•      Maintaining empathy and compassion through curiosity, and helping the client to begin to understand his or her own behavior and its impact on other people                 

 Format:

The seminar will include lecture, video presentation, role-plays, clinical group exercises, and customized “scripts” for handling particularly challenging moments in therapy. The workshop will be held in English.

Objectives are to help Participants do the following:

•     Acquire a working understanding of schema theory and schema mode work

•     Learn to apply specific clinical strategies with narcissistic clients

•     Integrate concepts from interpersonal neurobiology—demonstrated as powerful tools for accelerating treatment effectiveness.

•     Identify their personal schemas and modes—a major obstacle to treatment

•     Use self-work: to bypass intense reactions linked to personal triggers, activated by the narcissist

•     Create and adapt custom-fitting scripts to fortify leverage, to utilize “empathic confrontation”, and to set limits…under a variety of conditions relevant to narcissism.

Schema Therapy for Couples with a Narcissistic Partner

This workshop will offer a proposal for interventions and strategies to work with one of the most challenging issues in couple’s therapy: Narcissism. Wendy Behary, author of Disarming the Narcissist, is an expert when it comes to addressing the resistance and rigidity that often shows up in complex patterns of self-protection and aggression. She proposes a means for creating and enhancing leverage to avoid power struggles in the treatment of couples and in the treatment of individuals who are dealing with / living with a narcissist.

The workshop will provide therapists with some additional insights for helping clients dive deep into an understanding of the issues of narcissism—manifested in their partner’s emotional and behavioral patterns, with an appreciation for the coping modes that show up as bravado while masking inadequacy, intolerable shame, sadness and loneliness. Practitioners will learn to identify and model strategies for partners, such as: how to engage in active limit setting, empathic confrontation, and enforcing consequences with the narcissist. In this 3-hour, 3-session course, we will meet three consecutive weeks for 60 minutes each time.  

Included in this Curriculum:

  • Origins of Narcissism and Treatment
  • Assessing / Predicting Possibilities for Healing
  • Affects of Narcissism on the Sexual Relationship
  • Overcoming Challenges in the Treatment when faced with Narcissistic Anger and Bullying
  • Strategies for Change / Healing Ruptures in the Relationship
  • Identifying Therapy Relationship Challenges – Therapist’s Schema Activation

Learning Objectives:

  • Participants will practice specific clinical strategies to apply with narcissistic anger and bullying
  • Establishing a robust bypass system for personal (countertransference) triggers activated by the narcissist or the partner of the narcissist, i.e., therapist’s schemas: self-sacrifice (guilt/resentment), subjugation (anger), unrelenting standards (demandingness/fatigue)
  • Utilizing empathic strategies and re-scripting to help couples create healthier forms of intimacy and sexual connection
  • Identifying the complex “Mode Clashes” in the relationship (based on issues of narcissism) that manifest in the partners feeling devalued, rejected, abused, deprived, invisible…and more
  • Helping partners of narcissists to overcome the “fear factor” that stunts growth and thwarts potentially otherwise-effective outcomes 



Mainz Schema Therapy Training Program Workshop Schedule:


WS 1: Introduction into Schema Therapy – focus on a forensic setting

Date: 16 - 17 January 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dipl. Psych. Claudia Knörnschild


Supervision – Workshop Schema Therapy

Date: 24 February 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dipl. Psych. Nadine Scheld


WS 1: Introduction into Schema Therapy and Case Conceptualization

Date: 10 – 11 March 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dipl. Psych. Dr. Neele Reiss, Dr. med. Friederike Vogel


Chair Work in Schema Therapy – Intensive Workshop

Date: 29 April 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dipl. Psych. Nadine Scheld


WS 2: Therapeutic Strategies in Schema Therapy (focus on chair work and imagery rescription)

Dates: 19 – 20 May 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dipl. Psych. Dr. Neele Reiss, Dr. med. Friederike Vogel


Schema Therapy in Trauma Disorders

Dates: 23 – 24 June 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dipl. Psych. Nadine Scheld


WS 3: Therapeutic Relationship in Schema Therapy and Empathic Confrontation

Date: 30 June 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dipl. Psych. Dr. Neele Reiss, Dr. med. Friederike Vogel


Supervision- Workshop Schema Therapy

Date: 1 July 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dr. med. Katharina Schmidt


Supervision- Workshop Schema Therapy with focus on forensic modes

Date: 16 September 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dr. med. Wilhelm Prange


Schema Therapy in Trauma Disorders

Dates: 29 – 30 September 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dipl. Psych. Nadine Scheld


Supervision – Workshop Schema Therapy

Date: 20 October 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dipl. Psych. Nadine Scheld


Supervision – Workshop Schema Therapy with focus on forensic modes

Date: 10 November 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dr. med. Wilhelm Prange


Chair work in Schema Therapy – Intensive Workshop

Date: 18 November 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dipl. Psych. Nadine Scheld


Self Therapy in Schema Therapy

Dates: 24  - 25 November 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dr. med. Katharina Schmidt


WS 4: Schema Therapy for Cluster C Personality Disorder

Date: 8 December 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dr. med. Friederike Vogel, Dr. med. Katharina Schmidt


WS 4: Schema Therapy for Cluster B Personality Disorder

Date: 9 December 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dr. med. Friederike Vogel


WS 4: Case Conceptualization and Application in a forensic setting

Dates: 11 – 12 December 2017

Trainer/Supervisor: Dipl.-Psych. Claudia Knörnschild

Why Schema Therapy?

Schema therapy has been extensively researched to effectively treat a wide variety of typically treatment resistant conditions, including Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Read our summary of the latest research comparing the dramatic results of schema therapy compared to other standard models of psychotherapy.

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