Schema Therapy Institute 172 Buckley Street, Essendon, Victoria 3040

"Pros: It's a well presented clinic with genuine and kind administration staff. Cons: This is a bit lengthy, but when there's no accountability for the experience of patients/clients where else can we report our views? They have a few Registrar therapists, and I seemed to have got one who was still new to therapy or really didn't know what they were doing, or both. They've since left the clinic so I don't know what happened there. Their individual approach seemed rather amateur and fledgling. It is a difficult tightrope to critique this, as in Schema therapy your own 'Critic-Schema' would likely be seen as 'resisting' progress, so it then feels like your own fault. Holding off on the detail, one of their methods was quite inappropriate at the time, which I can only assume was due to their inexperience or not being insightful enough to comprehend this. I know one could say that it's: "Part of the process/ There's a need to be challenged/ There's a method'..No.. I understand the therapeutic process, but I'm tired of actual inexperienced therapists trying out methods without insight; where they perhaps assume that because they've been professionally trained in some techniques that they're fine to just give-them-a-go on clients. So whilst there's an interesting set up here and I'm sure with some genuine people hoping to help, I just urge you to be aware. Trust your gut and intuition and if you can, take a full session to interview your therapist or talk to them beforehand on the phone. Get them to detail their (ideally years of) experience and training, why they've chosen schema therapy as their approach, what their methods will be, how many clients they see and what they've done for them. Ask them why they're a therapist, what they'll do for you, how they will do it, and anything else you can think of to get them to sell themselves to you. And if something feels off, just leave and find a new therapist. Not only because of potential sensitive feelings arising from therapy, but the possibility that you've encountered a therapist who isn't capable. For $220+ a session they need to be absolute experts, and there needs to be some accountability for clients who may not be experts, but know when a therapist is just not good enough."

"I had a very good learning experience attending the online training for Schema Therapy for Chronic Mood & Anxiety Disorders and Schema Therapy for Complex Trauma and Borderline Personality Disorder with the Schema Therapy Institute Australia. Ruth and Rita were very encouraging, engaging and chill. I loved the concept of neuroscience, schema, imagery work. There were many role play sessions to practice what we were taught. I am looking forward to attend more trainings with them. Thank you Ruth and Rita!"

"This module was – by far – the best of the three workshops offered by Schema Therapy Institute Australia towards the certification in Schema Therapy. It had the right blend of instructor-led training, videos and role plays demonstrations (hands-on activities), group participation, and peer-led discussions, incorporated into a technology assisted e-training. The mastery of knowledge and skills of the instructors/trainers, along with the mix of peers and their experience, were the highlights."

"Attended a three days Schema Therapy workshop on working with clients with Borderline Personality Disorder/Complex Trauma conducted by Dr Rita Younan and Dr Ruth Holt. The workshop was engaging and included role play application practices which were helpful. Thank you both for the insightful and valuable learnings! Looking forward to attending the upcoming trainings soon."

"I recently undertook a 3-day workshop through the Schema Therapy Institute on 'Schema Therapy & Attachment for Relationship Difficulties'. The workshop was OUTSTANDING. I loved every moment of it and I gained so much knowledge. I was in awe of the amount of material that Rita Younan and Gery Karantzas shared, their knowledge base, and the seamlessness and clarity in which the information was presented. Rita and Gery were able to maintain my attention throughout the three days, which was quite a feat given the online platform. It has been invaluable learning that has filled many gaps in my former training. Dr. Peggy Kardaras, PhD. Clinical Psychologist"