Schema Therapy is rapidly growing and training programs worldwide are attracting large numbers of new therapists. This is indeed a pleasant development for our society, but should also be a reminder that we need to secure that we maintain an ethically solid practice. Clinical studies (e.g. Giesen-Bloo et al, 2006) are suggesting that limited reparenting is central to the efficacy of Schema Therapy. Reparenting is a therapeutic stance that calls for ethical sensibility of the practicing schema therapist. Establishing an attachment bond with a client has ethical implications that need to be highlighted and addressed. What are the boundaries for emotional intimacy, for limit setting, for autonomy support? There are many challenging questions that need to be raised and discussed. As a society we are well aware of the many cultural differences in regards of ethical policies and standards in various countries, as well as differences that may occur in different work environments. It is therefore an important task for us to provide solid ethical guidelines in order to avoid malpractice and to facilitate Schema Therapy implementation. The aim of this round-table is to highlight and address any ethical issues that may arise as part of limited reparenting, as we are starting up our task to establish official ethical guidelines. The panel is organized by the ISST Ethics Committee, which serves under the ISST Executive Board. There will be time allotted during the panel for questions from the audience, in addition to membership questions sent to the Ethics Committee prior to the conference. A letter will be sent out to the ISST listserve encouraging members to share any problems and difficulties that they have encountered in regards of implementing limited reparenting in their practices and clinical settings.

Panelist 1

Presenters: Peregrine Kavros

Level of ISST Membership? (Full, Associates, Honorary, Supporter) Full

ISST Certification Level? (Standard, Advanced) Advanced

ISST Certification Area? (individuals, couples, group, children & adolescents, forensic, auxiliary) Individual

Panelist 2

Presenter: Vartouhi Ohanian

Level of ISST Membership? (Full, Associates, Honorary, Supporter) Full

ISST Certification Level? (Standard, Advanced) Advanced

ISST Certification Area? (individuals, couples, group, children & adolescents, forensic, auxiliary) Individual

Panelist 3 

Presenters: Lynda Parry

Level of ISST Membership? (Full, Associates, Honorary, Supporter) Full

ISST Certification Level? (Standard, Advanced) Advanced

ISST Certification Area? (individuals, couples, group, children & adolescents, forensic, auxiliary) Individual

About the Presenters:

Poul Perris:

Poul Perris, MD, is the Director of the Swedish Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Schema Therapy. He is trained in both individual and couples therapy. Poul is a certified in both Individual and Couples Therapy as a Schema Therapist, Supervisor, and Trainer. He has served on the Schema Couples Therapy Committee since 2014.

​Poul is the Founding President of the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST), and served on the ISST Executive Board from 2008 to 2010. He also served as President of the Swedish Association for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (SACBT), from 2010 to 2016. Poul has trained therapists nationally and internationally for over 10 years, and is the co-author of "Schematerapi en clinkers handbook & terapiberattelse," currently available in Swedish.  

Peregrine Kavros:

coming soon

Vartouhi Ohanian:

coming soon

Lynda Parry:

Clinical Psychologist who has been in private practice for 34 years. Originally an early childhood educator she has a passion for developmental psychology which led to 4 years post graduate study and accreditation in contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy. At graduation her thesis on Dreams: Remembering, Reviewing and Reconstructing the Self was awarded the Ron Lee award for best thesis. She went on to present her paper Is Dream Analysis Obsolete? at the 6th World Congress for Psychotherapy in Sydney, Australia in 2011.

Lynda is trained in psychodrama and worked at The Psychodrama Centre, Sydney for 10 years. The experience of running psychodrama groups and training in both psychodynamic psychotherapy and CBT has stood her in good stead for embracing Schema Therapy. She is an accredited advanced schema therapist, trainer and supervisor, the director of the Schema Therapy Centre of NSW, a member of the ISST Ethics Committee and ISST co-regional training co-ordinator along with Rita Younan for Australia.

Her article Schema Therapy and Dreams: Accessing The Vulnerable Child was published in the ISST Bulletin, December, 2018. As well providing training in the ST model she runs workshops on ST with Dreams and Nightmares: Accessing the Vulnerable Child Mode. This workshop was booked out at the 2019 APS National Clinical College Conference. A video of a shortened version of this workshop was put on You tube for a month by the NSW College of Clinical Psychologists for their members only and attracted 435 views.