ISST-Approved Individual Training
Bring Schema Therapy Into Your Individual Clinical Practice
All 42 hours of coursework toward ISST Individual Certification. Live online, weekly across 14 sessions, taught by a therapist who trained directly with Jeffrey Young beginning in 1994.
Why Train In This Model
What schema therapy lets you do that talk-based work does not
Schema therapy was built for the presentations that circle the same ground in standard cognitive and behavioral work: chronic, characterological, and treatment-resistant patterns. It gives you a live read of the session and a defined way to respond, so the hardest cases become workable rather than draining.
A live map of the room
Mode language tells you who is in front of you at any moment. Sudden shifts stop reading as resistance and start reading as information you can work with.
A defined relational stance
Limited reparenting replaces neutral distance with a warm, boundaried presence, so you stop improvising with the most demanding presentations and the sessions feel less draining.
A repeatable approach
A coherent framework connects formulation to intervention across clients, so your work compounds session to session rather than starting from scratch each time.
The Evidence
Studied where it is hardest to help
In a randomized multicentre trial, adults with borderline personality disorder received either schema-focused therapy or transference-focused psychotherapy over a planned three-year treatment period. At the four-year follow-up, 52 percent of participants assigned to schema-focused therapy met the study’s recovery threshold on the Borderline Personality Disorder Severity Index, compared with 29 percent of those assigned to transference-focused psychotherapy.
Recovery figures: van Asselt ADI, et al. Br J Psychiatry. 2008;192(6):450–457. Original trial: Giesen-Bloo J, et al. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006;63(6):649–658. These results describe one trial in borderline personality disorder and do not establish equivalent outcomes for every condition or population covered by the training.
Who This Training Is For
Licensed clinicians who work with adults
Psychologists, social workers, counselors, psychotherapists, and psychiatrists who want a structured, evidence-based approach to complex and treatment-resistant presentations. It is especially suited to clinicians whose talk-based work keeps circling the same patterns and who want methods that reach emotion directly.
No prior schema therapy experience is required. Clinicians from CBT, ACT, DBT, EFT, Gottman, psychodynamic, IFS, EMDR, and other backgrounds consistently find the model deepens their existing work rather than replacing it.
The Curriculum
What you will learn: four modules across 14 sessions
The program builds in sequence, from recognizing schemas in the room to the experiential methods that create change.
The Schema Model in Practice
Early maladaptive schemas, schema domains, and coping styles, and how to recognize them as they surface in a live session rather than only in a case formulation.
Mode Work
Identifying child modes, dysfunctional parent modes, maladaptive coping modes, and the Healthy Adult. You learn to name who is in front of you and respond to that mode specifically.
Limited Reparenting
The core therapeutic stance of schema therapy, how to meet unmet emotional needs within professional boundaries, and how to hold that stance when a client tests it.
Experiential Techniques
Imagery rescripting, chairwork, and empathic confrontation, the methods that reach emotion directly instead of talking around it.
The Differentiator
Experiential methods you will practice
These are the techniques that reach emotion directly rather than talking around it. You practice each one through demonstration, guided role plays, and instructor feedback, so you can use them in your next session.
Imagery Rescripting
Revisiting formative memories and changing their emotional outcome, so the schema loses its grip. You practice guiding a client back into a charged early scene and rewriting what happens next.
Chairwork
Externalizing modes so a client can separate the vulnerable child, the punitive parent, and the healthy adult, and speak from each. The room becomes a place to stage and shift the inner conflict.
Empathic Confrontation
Naming a coping mode with warmth so the client can see it operating without feeling attacked, holding care and honesty at the same time.
Structure & Schedule
How the program runs
The program runs live online across 14 sessions. Every session is live and interactive over Zoom, blending didactic teaching with live demonstrations, guided role plays, and instructor feedback, so you leave each week with something you can use immediately.
There is a reason it runs this way. After a typical multi-day intensive, most clinicians retain only a fraction of the material within a month. When the same content is spaced and reinforced across weeks, retention improves substantially, and this program is built around that research rather than around convenience. It matters most for schema therapy’s experiential skills. Imagery rescripting, chairwork, and limited reparenting are acquisition-heavy, and they are easy to lose without spaced practice and feedback.
Fall 2026 session dates
Fall 2026 runs September 10 through December 17: 14 live sessions on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET, totaling 42 coursework hours that fulfill the ISST coursework standard.
Spring 2027
Spring 2027: January 21 through May 20, Thursdays 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET, same 14-session format.
Certification
This program provides the coursework, not the full credential on its own
The program delivers all 42 hours of coursework required toward Individual Schema Therapist certification through the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST). Full ISST certification additionally requires separate consultation and competency requirements, which are completed outside this coursework.
Your Instructor
Taught by a founding member of the ISST
Travis Atkinson, LCSW, LICSW, began training directly with Jeffrey Young in 1994 and worked alongside him to build the first international schema therapy training program. A founding member and Honorary Lifetime Member of the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST), Travis is also an Advanced Certified Schema Therapist, a co-author of the Schema Mode Inventory (SMI), and a contributor to the Handbook of Schema Therapy. He brings nearly 30 years of clinical experience to the program.
What You Receive
- 42 hours of live, interactive coursework toward ISST Individual Certification.
- Direct instruction from a therapist who trained with Jeffrey Young, beginning in 1994.
- Practice of imagery rescripting, chairwork, and mode work through live demonstration and guided role play.
- Ongoing access to session recordings, handouts, and case materials after the cohort ends.
Tuition & Enrollment
Priced for your region
Tuition is calibrated to your region’s cost of living, so the same training and credential remain within reach worldwide. Full tuition details and payment options by track and country are on our tuition page. Applications for the next cohort are reviewed on a rolling basis, and every cohort is capped at 20 participants. That cap is deliberate. It means real case discussion and feedback on your own work, not a lecture hall.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Does this coursework count toward ISST certification?+
Yes. The program fulfills the 42 hours of coursework toward ISST Individual Certification. ISST certification also requires separate consultation and competency requirements, which are not included in this coursework.
Is the training live or self-paced?+
Every session is live and interactive over Zoom, blending didactic teaching with live demonstrations, guided role plays, and instructor feedback.
Do I need prior schema therapy experience?+
No. The program is designed to take committed clinicians from foundations through to integrated practice, whether or not you have worked with the model before.
What is the refund and transfer policy?+
Tuition is nonrefundable. If you cannot complete the program, you may transfer to any future cohort within one year of your original start date at no additional charge. Full policy details are on the tuition page.
More answers on our FAQ page.
Train where schema therapy was built
Seats for the Fall 2026 cohort are limited, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.