For a long time, the emphasis in literature and education about schema therapy was placed on processing the dysfunctional parent and coping modes and validating the needs of patients’ Vulnerable Child mode. Although strengthening the Healthy Adult was mentioned as the ultimate goal of the treatment, there was very little specific attention for this mode. Often there is insufficient explanation of what exactly the client’s ‘Healthy Adult’ is, what that modus does exactly, how the client can learn to connect with this part of themselves and how this healthy mode can be strengthened in therapy.
It is only in recent years that more attention is paid to this Healthy Adult mode in educational programmes, congresses and in publications in the field of schema therapy. How important it is to focus attention on this mode was shown in the presentation by Arnoud Arntz (A. Arntz, keynote at the International congress for Schema Therapy, Amsterdam 2018)
Recent research data reveal that specifically strengthening this Healthy Adult mode in combination with validating the basic needs of the Vulnerable Child is an important predictor for the effectiveness of therapy
In this workshop, we address the following questions:
- What does the Healthy Adult look like?
- How can you connect with this part of yourself?
- How can you strengthen the Healthy Adult?
- How can the Healthy Adult be used to tackle dysfunctional modes?
The day will have a practical and lively character. Various methods and techniques that can help the therapist strengthen this healthy, essential part of the client will be demonstrated and practised.