I am currently receiving therapy / counselling through the NHS and would be interested in hearing about others experience with Schema Therapy.
I have had someting like 13 or 14 sessions so far and am struggling to see how this particular therapy can help.
For those that unaware of what schema therapy is, it focuses on childhood experiences, particularly trauma and how those experiences have shaped you as a person.
Like many (maybe most) people, I had a number of challenges as a child and growing up. Yes, some really hurt, but I have always had the attitude of pick yourself up, dust yourself down and get on with it. However, I was unfortunate to experience adverse reactions to the COVID vaccine 4 1/2 years ago which have had significant impact on my life and that's when things became really challenging. I lost my job, suffer chronic fatigue, was diagnosed ASD 2 years ago, been briefly detained under Section 136 four times, to name a few things.
I dont see the point in going over traumatic events from my childhood - they are in the past and I feel that I have reconciled them, moved on, etc.
My issue is more recent and need to specifically address the impact such as severe anxiety, low confidence, etc.
I think and hope that my therapist has finally understood that this is what I want and need, and not to bring up sh1t from over 40 years ago!
I'm also concerned about the suitability of the therapy and my therapist's lack of experince with autism.
My research has indicated that Schema Therapy can be effective for autistic individuals, but it needs to be tailored in a way the is autism aware.
However, what this means to my therapist is asking enviroment questions such as is the lighting ok, are there any sensory issues.
She has triggered me quite badly a couple of times with tasks or homework that have clearly been unsuitabe for an autistic person.
She has acknowledged that she shouldn't have exposed me to those incidents and that she will be more mindful going forward.
