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Schema Therapy Associates - leading providers of Schema Therapy Training

Certification

 

On our ISST (International Society of Schema Therapy) approved Certification Programme we support you right through your development as a Schema Therapist, from the comprehensive programme of teaching, to specialist supervision that we match to your needs, to resources that guide you through the steps to certification. Check out our Why Chose Us? page.

ISST Certification may be attained at Standard or Advanced levels; both are internationally recognised qualifications that allow you to be listed as a Schema Therapist on the ISST website. Advanced Certification is the first step to gaining approved Trainer-Supervisor status with the ISST. 

What does certification involve? 

If you wish to pursue certification with us you will need to attend Workshops 1 and 2a, b & c, read Reinventing your Life (Young & Klosko, 1999) and Schema Therapy: A Practitioners Guide (Young, Klosko & Weishaar, 2003), work with complex cases using Schema Therapy and receive clinical supervision from one of our ISST approved supervisors (chosen to suit you). To attain certification, you will also need to pass evaluations of therapy session recordings and case conceptualisations and be a member of the ISST.

Most trainees take two to three years to attain certification. For Standard Certification the ISST stipulates that all requirements must be fulfilled within three years of completing the taught component (i.e. Workshops 1 and 2a, b & c). Additional time is available to complete Advanced Certification; see here for further details. 

 

Standard Certification

 

For Standard Certification you will need to:

  1. Complete Workshops 1 and 2 and at least 20 sessions of Schema Therapy supervision.

  2. Treat a minimum of two cases with Schema Therapy of at least 25 therapy hours each; overall, you must undertake at least 80 sessions of Schema Therapy with clients. One client must have a personality disorder or significant personality disorder features; another must be appropriate for Schema Mode work due to problem complexity, chronicity, failure to respond to previous treatment or relapse.

  3. Submit at least two audio/video recordings of therapy sessions for feedback and competency rating for the purpose of developing your skills. Submit a final session recording for competency rating by an independent rater, with a client who is appropriate for Schema Mode work due to problem complexity, chronicity, failure to respond to treatment or relapse.

  4. Submit at least one Case Conceptualisation (CC) for competency rating and feedback in order to develop your skills. Provide an additional CC that accompanies the session recording that you submit to an independent rater (see above).

 

Advanced Certification

 

For Advanced certification you will need to:

  1. Complete Workshops 1 and 2 and at least 40 sessions of Schema Therapy supervision.

  2. Treat a minimum of four cases with Schema Therapy of at least 25 therapy hours each; overall, you must undertake at least 160 sessions of Schema Therapy. One client must have a personality disorder or significant personality disorder features; others should be appropriate for Schema Mode work due to problem complexity, chronicity, failure to respond to treatment or relapse.

  3. Submit at least four audio/video recordings of therapy sessions for feedback and competency rating for the purses of developing your skills. Submit two final session recordings for competency rating by independent raters. One of these sessions must be with a client with a personality disorder or significant personality disorder features; the other must be with a client who is appropriate for Schema Mode work due to problem complexity, chronicity, failure to respond to treatment or relapse.  At this level, you will be expected to demonstrate competence with both overcompensating and avoidant/surrender modes.

  4. Submit at least one Case Conceptualisation (CC) for competency rating and feedback in order to develop your skills. Provide additional CCs that accompany the session recordings that you submit to independent raters (see above).

 

Am I Eligible?

 

Any qualified mental health professional is welcome to attend our workshops for CPD purposes. However,in the UK, the ISST stipulates the following pre-requisites to apply to a Certification Programme. Candidates must hold at least a bachelor’s (with honours) degree and: 

Applications from practitioners who do not meet the above training criteria but hold a core qualification in mental health may still be eligible to join an ISST-approved training programme due to their general qualifications and experience in mental health. See this document for further details.

Candidates must also have access to clients who are suitable for mode work due to (a) the presence of significant personality disorder features and (b) clients with high levels of complexity, chronicity, relapse or previous failures in treatment. 

 

How Do I Apply?

 

Use the link below, and assuming you meet the basic criteria, we will then arrange a short interview by Zoom (a GDPR-compliant video meeting platform). 

Please note: attending an STA workshop does not automatically confer registration on our Certification Programme, as applicants need apply and be accepted onto our programme. 

 

Certification Costs

 

Standard certification

  • 2 x workshops = 7 training days: £1,175

  • 20 (minimum) supervision sessions at approximately £105 each: £2100

  • Ratings of two session recordings and case conceptualisations by your supervisor (essential for skills development) approximately £110 each: £220

  • Rating of one session recording and case conceptualisation by an independent rater approximately £120 each: £120

Approximate TOTAL: £3615

 
 

Advanced certification

  • 2 x workshops = 7 training days: £1,175

  • 40 (minimum) supervision sessions at approximately £105 each: £4200

  • Ratings of four session recordings and case conceptualisations by your supervisor (essential for skills development) approximately £110 each: £440

  • Rating of two session recordings and case conceptualisations by independent raters approximately £120 each: £240

Approximate TOTAL: £6055

 

Membership of the ISST, which currently costs 100 Euros = approximately £90 is also required.