Psychotherapists’s Perception of Schema Therapy Education in Brazil and the Difficulties They Face in Clinical Practice

Schema therapy constitutes a psychotherapeutic approach that has been gaining popularity in Brazil. This study aims to investigate psychotherapists’ perceptions of it and the difficulties they face in clinical practice. This qualitative and exploratory study included online interviews. We have conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 Brazilian psychotherapists (M = 35.05; SD = 5.24) that lasted from 30 minutes to one hour. We recruited psychotherapists by a snowball approach for the convenience sample of this study in 2020. Furthermore, we conducted a reflexive thematic analysis on NVIVO 12. Psychotherapists reported difficulties managing their own schemas, transferring theoretical knowledge to clinical practice, and managing challenging patients. The strategies the psychotherapists cited the most included supervision, personal therapy, management of the agenda, and theoretical studies. We suggest that the Brazilian schema therapy formal education program should incorporate supervision into its program.

Keywords:
clinical education; psychotherapists; schema therapy