In schema therapy, the therapist-patient relationship is an essential element of schema assessment and change. Two features of the therapeutic relationship are emblematic of schema therapy: empathic confrontation and limited reparenting. Empathic confrontation is expressing understanding about the patient’s schemas while simultaneously confronting the need for change. Limited reparenting is fulfilling, in a limited way, the unmet emotional needs of the patient’s childhood.
In the Assessment and Education Phase, the therapy relationship is an efficacious way to assess schemas and educate the patient. The therapist establishes rapport, formulates the case conceptualization, decides what style of limited reparenting is appropriate for the patient, and determines whether the therapist’s own schemas and coping styles are likely to interfere with the course of therapy.
Empathic confrontation and limited reparenting blend and alternate throughout the cognitive, experiential, and behavioral pattern-breaking stages of the Change Phase. Therapists adapt their reparenting styles to match the patient’s schemas and coping styles. Self-knowledge of one’s own schemas and coping styles helps therapists stay focused on reparenting the patient in the most helpful manner.