Experiential techniques have two aims: (1) to trigger the emotions connected to Early Maladaptive Schemas and (2) to reparent the patient in order to heal these emotions and partially meet the patient’s unmet childhood needs. For many of our patients, experiential techniques seem to produce the most profound change. Through experiential work, patients can make the transition from knowing intellectually that their schemas are false to believing it emotionally. Whereas the cognitive and behavioral techniques draw their power from the accumulation of small changes achieved through repetition, the experiential techniques are more dramatic. They draw their power from a few deeply convincing corrective emotional experiences. The experiential techniques capitalize on the human capacity to process information more effectively in the presence of affect.
This chapter describes the experiential techniques that we use most often in schema therapy. We present the experiential techniques for the Assessment Phase and then for the Change Phase.