Diaries

By George Lockwood. Posted on 12, July 2009
Schema Therapy Diaries

A Schema Therapy Diary is a form filled out in-between sessions that provides a guide for the patient to organize their experience when schemas or modes are triggered in terms of what they have been learning in the therapy. Schema driven reactions are sorted out in terms of thoughts, feelings, behaviors, underlying schemas, healthy perspectives and realistic concerns, overreactions, and healthy behavior. It is a summary of all the major elements and stages of the therapy process and, as such, provides an important template. For some patients and therapists the Schema Diary in internalized and not used explicitly, especially at later stages in the therapy. For other therapist-patient pairs it becomes an important tool to further the internalization of healthy adult processes.