Schema therapy comes with a lot of concepts to keep track of. That's quite a lot to hold in mind, and even more so when there's a language barrier on top of it. Core emotional needs, schemas, modes, coping styles. This English edition of Kenschetser's schema therapy card set brings those concepts literally into view. Particularly useful when working with international students, expats, or clients with a migration background.
Want to know more about schema therapy and where these concepts come from? The knowledge hub has an in-depth article on it, currently still in Dutch, but more on that soon.
What's in the set?
The set contains 55 illustrated cards across four categories: 7 core emotional need cards, 21 schema cards, 7 overarching mode cards, and 20 mode cards. They come in a handy storage tin, so they're always within reach.
How do you use the cards?
The cards are versatile and can be used throughout schema therapy treatment. They make it easy to map out a case conceptualization or mode model quickly and visually. They also work well during experiential techniques like the empty chair technique: place a mode card on the chair to make visible which mode is sitting there. The illustrations turn out to evoke the affective side of a mode, the feeling that goes with it, more readily than words alone.
The back of each card includes additional explanation in English. That makes the set a handy reference tool for therapists who are still learning, and a self-contained resource for people in group treatment. In small groups, participants can explore for themselves which schemas and modes apply to them, without the therapist needing to explain the theory every time.
Which cards are included?
The set follows the overview of the Dutch Association for Schema Therapy, supplemented with the latest insights from the position paper by Arntz and colleagues (2021). This means the two newer core emotional needs, justice and self-coherence, and their corresponding schemas are included.
- Functional modes: Healthy Adult, Happy Child
- Maladaptive parent modes: Demanding Parent, Punitive Parent
- Child modes: Vulnerable Child, Angry Child, Furious Child, Impulsive Child, Undisciplined Child
- Protective modes (avoidance): Angry Protector, Detached Protector, Detached Self-Soother
- Protective modes (surrender): Compliant Surrenderer
- Protective modes (overcompensation): Perfectionistic Overcontroller, Paranoid Overcontroller, Deceiver and Manipulator, Attention and Approval Seeker, Self-Aggrandiser, Bully and Attack, Predator
Schema cards per core emotional need:
Connection and Safety: Social Isolation, Abandonment, Emotional Deprivation, Abuse/Mistrust, Defectiveness/Shame
Autonomy: Failure, Enmeshment, Dependence, Vulnerability to Harm or Illness
Self-expression: Approval-Seeking, Self-Sacrifice, Subjugation
Spontaneity and Play: Punitiveness, Negativity/Pessimism, Unrelenting Standards, Emotional Inhibition
Realistic Limits: Insufficient Self-Control, Entitlement
Self-coherence: Lack of Coherent Identity, Lack of a Comprehensible World
Justice: Injustice
How are the cards made?
The cards are printed in A6 format (105 × 148 mm) on 305 gsm playing card stock. The corners are rounded and both sides are finished with a thin scratch-resistant matte laminate, making them durable and pleasant to handle, even after heavy use in the consulting room.