the schema. She was able to see that herparents had their own problems which kept them from providing her with adequatenurturance, and that she was not always destined to be deprived.There are many variations on the above technique. Clients may take on the role of theother person in these dialogues, and express what they imagine their feelings to be. Orthey may write a letter to the other person, which they have no intention of mailing, sothat they can express their feelings without inhibition.Mode work can be invaluable as an emotive technique. A client may be feeling a vaguesense of sadness which he cant clarify. By looking at modes with his therapist he mayconnect with a mode that he labels as Unimportant. By dialoging with the therapistfrom the modes point of view many feelings can come out which can be worked onfurther. In this case the client might get in touch not only with the sadness, but alsowith anger at being ignored.Interpersonal techniques highlight the clients interactions with other people so that therole of the schemas can be exposed. One way is by focusing on the relationship with thetherapist. Frequently, clients with a Subjugation schema go along with everything thetherapist wants, even when they do not consider the assignment or activity relevant.They then feel resentment towards the therapist which they display indirectly. Thispattern of compliance and indirect expression of resentment can then be explored to theclients benefit. This may lead to a useful exploration of other instances in which theclient complies with others and later resents it, and how they might better cope at thosetimes.Another type of interpersonal technique involves including a clients spouse in therapy. Aman with a Self-Sacrifice schema might choose a wife who tends to ignore his wishes.The therapist may wish to involve the wife in the treatment in order to help the two ofthem to explore the patterns in their relationship and change the ways in which theyinteract.Cognitive techniques are those in which the schema-driven cognitive distortions arechallenged. As in short-term cognitive therapy, the dysfunctional thoughts are identifiedand the evidence for and against them is considered. Then new thoughts and beliefs aresubstituted. These techniques help the client see alternative ways to view situations.The first step in dealing with schemas cognitively is to examine the evidence for andagainst the specific schema which is being examined. This involves looking at the clientslife and experiences and considering all the evidence which appears to support or refutethe schema. The evidence is then examined critically to see if it does, in fact, providesupport for the schema. Usually the evidence produced will be shown to be in error, andnot really supportive of the schema.For instance, lets consider a young man with an Emotional Deprivation schema.When asked for evidence that his emotional needs will never be met, he brings upinstances in which past girlfriends have not met his needs. However, when these pastrelationships are looked at carefully, he finds that, as part of the schema surrenderprocess, he has chosen women who are not capable of giving emotionally. Thisunderstanding gives him a sense of optimism; if he