Schema Therapy Training Canada
Canada's Exclusive Experiential Group
for Therapists!
Join Canada's Premier Experiential Group Tailored for Therapists!
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The First of its Kind in Canada!
Be part of unique, cutting edge Canadian Schema Therapy training! This EXPERIENTIAL, evidence based approach to learning will deepen your
understanding of Schema Therapy through Self Practice/Self Reflection, as developed by Farrell and Shaw (2018). This is the gold standard of Experiential learning, leading to both personal and professional growth. Recognizing and addressing your own schemas and modes is critical for
Schema Therapists as agents of “Limited reparenting”, and for the ability to remain fully present for each client.
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Grasp the essentials before the deep dive into the Certification program
For those who are interested in pursuing Certification, many practitioners have found that having the in-depth knowledge/ experience of the Experiential Group before taking the Certification program has been immensely helpful. The Certification program is fast paced and packed full of information. If you don’t yet understand schemas and modes or the process of ST before taking the Certification program, it can be overwhelming. This group offers you the opportunity to grasp not only the essentials before the deep dive into the Certification program, but also to practice the techniques and interventions, integrating it on a deeper and more meaningful level.
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Develop powerful insights into your own personal underlying schemas and modes with this individualized growth experience.
Discover how to identify and heal your own triggers. Developing deeper self-awareness through Schema Therapy will directly impact your relationship with both yourself and with others.
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Therapists are human, too! With Experiential Schema Therapy, you will be better able to recognize and effectively manage your own triggers during sessions with clients. This skill will help you maintain empathy, increase your confidence in using Schema Therapy interventions and strengthen your comfort when working with clients experiencing strong emotional responses—ultimately enhancing client satisfaction and therapeutic effectiveness.
Experiential Schema Therapy Group This Fall
Weekly meetings on Tuesdays from September 23 - December 9, 2025
12 sessions from 5:00 - 7:00 pm EST (Duration: 2 hours)
Total Hours: 24 hours
Limited spaces: maximum 8 participants/group
Fee: $990.00 CAD / less than $50 /hour,
Before payment, please fill out the following forms and send them to Frances Miller MSW, RSW at fmiller.schemacda@gmail.com. Your application will be reviewed, and you may proceed to payment once you have been accepted into the group.
What Is Experiential Group Schema Therapy?
Schema Therapy Training Canada draws strongly on the ground breaking work of Joan Farrell and Ida Shaw in developing Self-Practice/Self Reflection groups. Experiential Group ST is designed for both advanced and beginner Schema Therapists. It is a training program that combines a “…structured experience of using ST interventions on yourself” (Farrell and Shaw, 2018) to deepen your understanding of both how it feels to experience ST, and how you work with clients using this model.
What Would I Expect To Learn In The Group?
You will be going through the experience of applying Schema Therapy to yourself. You will fill out and score your own YSQ (Young Schema Questionnaire) and SMI (Schema Mode Inventory), to identify your own schemas and modes. You will learn to complete the Schema Therapy Case Conceptualization, using yourself as the client, so that you can recognize your own triggers when working with clients. ST emphasizes limited reparenting as a critical approach in therapy. In order to do this with your clients, you need to be aware of triggers and manage them in highly
activated situations in therapy. At the same time, you will be validating and remaining attuned to the client, in a warm, caring manner, setting limits and supporting the growth of the Healthy Adult Mode of autonomy. That is a lot at one time! Being prepared for your own triggers to be activated, and knowing how to manage them, will help you in those challenging moments in therapy.
We will be doing role plays and dyadic work, along with experiential exercises that you can use with your clients. Research shows that therapists who have a large amount of intervention practice have better treatment outcomes than those whose training is primarily dydactic (Farrell and Shaw, 2018, Ten Napel-Schtuz, Tineke, Bamelis, & Arntz, 2016).
In this group, our goal is to apply ST to ourselves. You will use the group to explore what you learn about yourself personally, and reflect on what that means for you professionally, regarding how you work with clients and what their experiences are like as they go through the same process that you did. This is an integrated approach to learning, in which therapists learn how to apply interventions in their practice with clients, while focusing on their own lived experience of that learning about themselves through the lense of a Schema Therapist.
You can share as much or as little about yourself as you are comfortable with. People who are able to share tend to get more out of the group experience, as they have the opportunity to explore their own thoughts and feelings, and receive feedback from others.
What Are The Benefits Of This Approach For The Attendees?
Empirical evidence demonstrates that the Experiential Schema Therapy Groups approach to learning enriches one’s understanding of the ST model. Specifically, participants report “a deeper sense of knowing” the therapy. They also report improved reflective skills, a key metacognitive competency important for therapist’s continued learning. “(This program) demonstrate(s) changes in therapist attitudes toward clients, with enhanced interpersonal skills and increased empathy for clients. Participants report insights and changes in the “personal self” and the “therapist self”, enhanced reflective capacity, and use a more individualized approach to each client.” Farrell and Shaw, 2018)
Those with less experience as psychotherapists “…report benefits in the area of theoretical knowledge and intervention skills”, whereas those who have more experience “report benefits in interpersonal skills, enhanced artistry… flexibility and reflective capacity”. Some therapists report an increase in therapist resilience and decreased propensity for burnout”. (Haarhoff, 2006)
Further, for those who wish to do their Basic or Advanced Certification in ST, you will receive credit for these hours toward your international certification, as ST self-practice is a required part of the certification process in both individual and group ST.