Schema Therapy for Eating Disorders Online Training I Working with Tricky Modes, Body Image & Trauma l UK Time Zone October 2025

Schema Therapy Scotland is pleased to introduce this 2-day workshop on Schema Therapy for eating disorders with a focus on bypassing difficult coping modes,  working with guilt, shame and body image disturbances.

This workshop will provide therapists with an opportunity to learn powerful techniques for working with these people with eating disorders, including managing tricky coping modes that often block access to the Vulnerable Child. Anyone interested in knowing how to implement schema therapy using mode work with eating disorders, including those with severe and complex presentations, would benefit from this workshop.

The workshop will provide participants with practical experience and guidance in the use of chair work, empathic confrontation and other techniques for bypassing tricky coping modes. There will be a strong focus on imagery rescripting to address shame and guilt, eating/weight/shape related childhood traumas, concretisation of emotions and body image disturbances. Videos and live demonstrations will be used to illustrate experiential change techniques. Training will specifically include working with vulnerable [child] modes, limited reparenting skills, bypassing avoidant or overcompensatory coping modes, and fighting punitive (self-critical) or guilt inducing thinking patterns that drive eating disorder behaviours. Participants will receive handouts that they can use in their clinical work.

The workshop will offer you methods to cope with these challenging situations and will include:

Day 1:

• The latest evidence-base for Schema Therapy with Eating Disorders & common comorbidities
• Chairwork formulation for complex eating disorder thoughts, behaviours, urges, & comorbid disorders using schema ‘modes’
• Working with clients who are reluctant to participate in experiential work & to connect with emotions.
• Empathic confrontation & chair-work to bypass tricky coping modes coping modes in Eating Disorders including:  Overcontroller, Detached Self Soother,  Compliant and Helpless Surrenderer modes

Day 2:

• Schema Therapy for Addressing Body Image Disturbances
• Imagery rescripting for working with Complex Trauma in Eating Disorders
• Imagery rescripting for working with Guilt and Shame in Eating Disorders
• Enhancing Interoceptive Awareness through Reparenting and Imagery Rescripting
• Enhancing client’s Healthy Adult mode in treatment.

About the presenter:
Dr Susan Simpson is a Clinical Psychologist who works with patients with severe and complex eating disorders in private practice. She has 20+ years of experience using Schema Therapy with complex comorbidity, including eating disorders, OCD, personality disorders and PTSD. She has worked as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist within the NHS as a specialist in the treatment of eating disorders for over 25 years. She has published several books, book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles on schema therapy, with a particular focus on the eating disorder population. In addition, she has presented at national and international eating disorders conferences and has provided several workshops on Schema Therapy for Eating Disorders across Australia. She is co-author/editor of the  book ‘Schema Therapy for Eating Disorders’, Routledge, 2019. A full list of her publications can be found at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susan_Simpson/publications

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*Please note that this workshop will proceed with a minimum of 6 participants. In the case of insufficient registrations, participants will be given a minimum of 3 weeks’ notice of cancellation or postponement.