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Author: anne lazarakis

  • Supporting Neurodivergent Clients Through Sensory PlanningSensory plan

    A CONNECT 2025 Conference Highlight — With Free Resource from Liam Spicer

    Working with trauma is never simple. For many clinicians, supporting clients who live with complex trauma—particularly those who are neurodivergent—requires therapy that is attuned, flexible, and deeply human. This year at the CONNECT 2025 Conference in Sydney, attendees were offered a rare opportunity to dive into this intersection through a powerful presentation by Liam Spicer, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Psychologist, EMDR Trainer & Consultant, Accredited Schema Therapist, and PhD candidate.

    Liam’s session, Schema Therapy and Neuro-divergent Clients, explored how clinicians can better understand the sensory, cognitive, and emotional experiences of Autistic and ADHD individuals engaged in Schema Therapy. As someone with his own lived experience with Autistism and ADHD, Liam brings not only professional expertise but also a deeply personal insight into what truly helps clients feel safe, seen, and supported.

    To accompany his presentation, Liam generously provided a free Sensory Planning resource (scroll down) for practitioners—a simple but impactful tool to help clinicians tailor sessions in ways that reduce overwhelm, increase safety, and enhance therapeutic connection.

    Why Sensory Planning Matters

    Many neurodivergent clients experience the world through heightened or fluctuating sensory input. Trauma can amplify this. Without careful sensory consideration, therapy environments can unintentionally create barriers to engagement—bright lights, unpredictable noises, unexpected transitions, or even the pacing of a session can trigger shutdowns or distress.

    Liam’s resource invites clinicians to pause and ask:

    • How can I adapt this space to be safer for sensory needs?
    • What signals does this client give when approaching overwhelm?
    • How can I collaborate with them to co-design a supportive environment?

    These simple questions can transform the therapeutic experience from tolerable to genuinely healing.

    Dr Robert Brockman, who co-hosted CONNECT 2025 and helped bring this presentation to attendees, reflected on Liam’s contribution:

    A Voice Grounding Theory in Humanity

    “Liam has a rare ability to translate complex concepts into practical, compassionate tools that clinicians can use immediately. His lived experience enriches his teaching in a way that reminds us what truly matters in therapy: safety, attunement, and connection.” — Dr Robert Brockman.

    This blend of academic expertise, clinical clarity, and authenticity is why Liam is such an important voice in the fields of Schema Therapy, EMDR, and neurodiversity-affirming practice.

    About Liam Spicer

    Liam has presented internationally across Europe, the U.S., and Asia on trauma, grief, Schema Therapy, Autism, ADHD, and EMDR. He coordinates Cairnmillar’s Postgraduate Certificate in Trauma-Informed Care, contributes to leading research—including work shaping Australia’s first MDMA-AP clinical guidelines for PTSD—and specialises clinically in supporting Autistic and ADHD adults through a neuroaffirming lens.

    He is also the Director of the Neurodiversity Affirming Therapy Conference Australia and continues to play an important role in advancing research and practice in this area.

    Watch the CONNECT 2025 Recordings

    If you missed the event – or want to revisit Liam’s session – all conference recordings can now be streamed here:

    courses.schematherapytrainingonline.com/p/connect2025

    Don’t forget to download the free Sensory Planning resource to support your work with neurodivergent clients.

    Sensory Plan Download

  • Schema Therapy Mastery Plus: What’s included?

    After months of development, ISST Schema Trainers Dr Robert Brockman and Dr Chris Hayes have unveiled what Dr Brockman calls “the biggest resource endeavour we’ve ever worked on.”

    The new Schema Therapy Mastery Plus membership brings together more than 40 hours of schema therapy training resources, including the landmark Inside the Room: The Schema Therapy Sessions video series — the first of its kind to offer full-length schema therapy sessions for professionals worldwide.

    “Chris Hayes and I have been really busy these past few months putting together a couple of massive resources for those interested in learning the schema therapy model,” says Dr Brockman. “This really puts it all together into one complete package — a full video series and an ongoing mastery subscription.”

    Step Inside the Room

    At the heart of the membership is the Inside the Room video series — twelve hours of in-depth therapy demonstrations filmed with professional actors and four accredited schema therapists: Dr Brockman, Dr Hayes, Claudia Mendes, and Sarah Hartley.

    “It’s a video series where we have over ten full-length schema sessions with accredited schema therapists and with actors,” Dr Brockman explains. “You get to sit, watch the tape, and reflect moment by moment on the therapist’s process.”

    Each case presents a unique clinical challenge:

    • Nikki – a detached, avoidant client
    • Jason – a “dominator” mode client struggling with anger and control
    • Jenny – a pseudo-vulnerable, complainer/ventilator mode client

    The series allows learners to see how different therapists work experientially — using mode dialogues, limited reparenting, chairwork, and empathic confrontation.

    “This is probably the biggest resource Chris and I have produced so far,” Dr Brockman adds. “It’s professionally recorded and designed to help you really see schema therapy in action.”

    The Schema Therapy Mastery Plus Membership

    For clinicians and trainees seeking a deeper, more structured learning experience, the new Schema Therapy Mastery Plus subscription provides full access to all current and future resources.

    “For only fifty dollars more than the standalone video series,” says Dr Brockman, “you get access to our complete vault — our webinars, skills videos, client handouts, and new resources as we release them. It’s all in one place.”

    Members receive:

    • Inside the Room full-length video series (12 hours CPD)
    • Schema Therapy Mastery Stream – ongoing skills videos and bite-sized webinars
    • Monthly Drop-In Q&As with Rob and Chris
    • Webinar Library – over 20 hours of recorded teaching with CPD certificates
    • Schema Therapist Community Forum for shared learning and discussion
    • Schema Therapy Vault™ – downloadable therapist guides, scripts, and client resources
    • ISST Accreditation Hub for certification materials
    • Supervisor Connection Hub – a directory of accredited supervisors worldwide
    • Priority Access to supervision groups, conferences, and case consultation opportunities

    “It’s for the schema therapy aficionados who want to get all the resources possible to master the model,” Dr Brockman explains. “And it’s especially useful for those working toward ISST accreditation.”

    Join Now

    The Schema Therapy Mastery Plus membership is a subsciption membership aimed to help therapist learn in a self-paced format. New resources are added regularly.

    Find out more https://courses.schematherapytrainingonline.com/p/schema-therapy-mastery-plus

  • Nuanced Imagery Rescripting in Schema Therapy (2025)Episode 59: What’s the Schemata

    New Episode: August 15, 2025

    Episode: What’s the Schemata? — “Nuanced Imagery Rescripting: Social Isolation, Abandonment & More”
    Hosts: Chris Hayes & Dr. Robert Brockman (ISST-accredited supervisors)

    Schema Therapy is always developing. Techniques are refined, language becomes clearer, and therapists learn to adapt more fluidly to the unexpected. In this episode of What’s the Schemata?, Hayes and Brockman unpack some of the most challenging aspects of imagery rescripting. They explore what to do when the usual approaches don’t land, offering concrete strategies that therapists can put into practice straight away.

    Why this episode matters: Episode 59: What’s the Schemata

    Imagery rescripting is one of the most powerful interventions in Schema Therapy, but it is also one of the most challenging. Therapists often find themselves improvising in the moment, stepping into the client’s memory without a script. This discussion focuses on how to adapt when the scene isn’t straightforward and how to stay grounded in the core principle of meeting unmet needs.

    Social Isolation: when rescuing can isolate further

    Rescuing as an adult authority figure may unintentionally reinforce the client’s sense of being “different”. Instead, step into the memory as a same-age peer and bring the child into your group. Inclusion in something as simple as a playground game creates a vivid corrective experience. When appropriate, you can also draw on supportive peers from later life to strengthen the sense of belonging.

    Abandonment: a slow repair

    Abandonment imagery often unfolds over the long term rather than in a single breakthrough. For pre-verbal memories, the intervention is simple but powerful: pick up the baby, soothe, and stay. Avoid unrealistic repairs such as bringing a lost parent back. Focus instead on validating grief, modelling availability, and planting the seed of hope that stable connections are possible.

    Insufficient Self-Control and Self-Discipline: firm but caring limits

    This schema calls for limit-setting delivered with warmth. If the child in the image wants to avoid school or act impulsively, step in with a calm, clear boundary: school first, play later. When the original caregiver reinforced impulsivity, part of the repair is resetting norms and modelling accountability without shaming.

    Enmeshment and Self-Sacrifice: creating safe distance

    When a distressed caregiver overshares, the child can be overwhelmed. One solution is to move the child out of the conversation—invite them to play or draw in another room while you address the adult. Use empathic confrontation to acknowledge the caregiver’s stress while firmly protecting the child from inappropriate emotional burden.

    Contemptuous antagonists: keeping control of the scene

    Not every antagonist will back down. Some are dismissive or mocking. In these cases, maintain control. Mute them, remove them from the image, or impose boundaries within the imagined space. Aim your firm stance at the behaviour, not the person, to model healthy protection.

    Newer lenses: fairness and coherence

    • Basic Fairness: Correct clear injustices in the image and consider creating behavioural bridges, such as encouraging the adult client to buy themselves the symbolic item they were denied.
    • Coherence of Self and Others: Children suffer when events make no sense. Offer age-appropriate explanations to restore clarity. Mode maps and formulations in therapy often land with the powerful realisation: “Now it makes sense.”

    Key takeaways

    • Enter imagery just before the painful moment, not after.
    • Encourage first-person, present-tense engagement.
    • Speak differently to adults and children: limits and confrontation for adults, warmth and protection for the child.
    • Use creative but believable fantasy elements like distance, allies, or volume control.
    • Balance autonomy with safety—avoid over-rescuing.

    Coming soon: full-session recordings

    Hayes and Brockman also preview a new filmed series of ten full one-hour schema therapy sessions, showing complete start-to-finish clinical work. Titled Inside the Room: The Schema Therapy Sessions, this project is due for release in September or October 2025.

    Listen now

    This episode of What’s the Schemata? is packed with clinical insights, practical tips, and honest reflections on the challenges of imagery rescripting. Whether you are new to Schema Therapy or refining advanced skills, it offers ideas you can use immediately in your practice.

    Listen now to the full episode on your favourite podcast platform.