# Can someone explain "schema" to me please



## cartem2 (Mar 20, 2012)

I know this is probably a silly question 
I found a link to a self-help treatment website "Mindfull Recovery". It keeps referring to "schema" and I have no clue what they are talking about? I have never heard this word and have no clue how to pronounce it. I looked it up on wiki and I know its definition, that's not what I am having trouble with. The problem is I don't know the word at all and I don't know if I am even saying it right. I cant seem to grasp what they are trying to say because every time I see that word I'm like what the f is that word! Is there another word that means the same thing? Can anyone help me figure out how to say it right? The site seems very interesting and I would like to try to use the site as a tool but I am completely hung up on this word! I'm not even sure if this post makes any since, I don't think I will be able to grasp the word until I hear it spoken. The site I am refering to by the way is http://www.mindfulrecovery.com/new_site/orientation/orientation.html


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## MrWibblyWobbly (Mar 2, 2012)

Ah, wow. I didn't realize that site didn't have a description of the schemas. That's weird. Basically, a schema is a set of core beliefs that we often develop. A whole set of feelings and behaviors can emerge from these schemas, and really play out in our lives. The idea of schemas comes from cognitive therapy, and was elaborated on by Jeffrey Young into a therapy called Schema Therapy. For a detailed look into schema, you might want to look at Young's book _Reinventing Your Life_. (They call them "life traps" instead of schemas in that book, but they're the same thing.) Here is a list of schemas. Probably the most common for SA sufferers is the Social Exclusion schema, followed by the Defectiveness schema:



> THE ELEVEN LIFETRAPS
> 
> Two lifetraps relate to a lack of safety or security in your childhood family. These are Abandonment and Mistrust.
> 
> ...


Source: http://www.enneagramspectrum.com/177/enneagram-styles-and-maladaptive-schemas-a-research-project/


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