The same patterns keep repeating — schema therapy helps you understand why

You keep ending up in the same place. The same kind of relationship, the same self-doubt, the same feeling that you’re not quite enough no matter what you achieve. These aren’t random. They’re often “schemas” — deep patterns formed early in life that quietly run the show. Schema therapy helps you see them clearly and finally change them.

Book your free 20-minute call — No forms. Just say “I saw your website.”

First 20 minutes free · No forms · You talk directly to Dr. Samuel · RCC · CCC · PhD · Covered by ICBC · FNHA · CVAP · VAC · RCMP & most insurers · English · فارسی

Does this sound like you?

• You achieve a lot but still feel like you’re not enough, or that you’ll be “found out.”
• You keep choosing partners or friends who leave you feeling the same old way.
• You swing between putting everyone else first and feeling resentful and drained.
• Criticism — even small — cuts deeper than it should.
• You sense the roots go back a long way, but you don’t know how to reach them.

What schema therapy is

Schema therapy blends cognitive, attachment, and experiential work to reach the patterns that ordinary talk therapy sometimes can’t. Rather than only managing symptoms, we work with the “modes” and early schemas driving them — so change holds instead of fading. It’s especially helpful for long-standing anxiety, shame, depression, and relationship patterns that keep repeating.

How it works with Dr. Samuel

1. You reach out — a free 20-minute call, no forms.
2. You talk — ask anything: fees, insurance, whether schema therapy fits you. Completely confidential.
3. You decide — book a first session, or don’t. You leave with clarity and zero obligation.

Fees and expenses are covered by ICBC, CVAP, FNHA, IFHP, RCMP, VAC, and most other insurers, and direct billing is available.

FAQ — Schema Therapy

How is schema therapy different from regular CBT?

CBT targets current thoughts and behaviours; schema therapy goes further, working with the lifelong patterns — ‘schemas’ — and the unmet early needs underneath them. It suits people who have done CBT, understood their thinking perfectly well, and still find the same pattern repeating in relationships, work or how they treat themselves.

How long does schema therapy take?

Focused work on one pattern can help within a few months; deeper schema change is longer-term, because the patterns were built over years. Samuel sets the pace with you and reviews progress openly rather than keeping you coming indefinitely.

Is schema therapy covered by insurance?

Yes. Schema therapy sessions with Samuel are Registered Clinical Counsellor sessions and are covered by most extended health plans and direct-billed. Fees and expenses are covered by ICBC, CVAP, FNHA, IFHP, RCMP, VAC, and most other insurers, and direct billing is available. Coverage is confirmed on the free 20-minute call.

Do I need a diagnosis to start schema therapy?

No. If the same pattern keeps repeating — the same kind of partner, the same collapse under criticism, the same self-sabotage when things go well — that is reason enough. Samuel Ezzatilord, PhD, RCC, CCC, LMCC, starts from the pattern, not from a label.

What is a ‘schema’, in plain terms?

A deep, early-formed belief about yourself and others that runs automatically — ‘I will be abandoned’, ‘I am not good enough’, ‘my needs don’t matter’, ‘I must please everyone’, ‘something bad is always about to happen’. Schemas were once sensible responses to a childhood situation; the trouble is they keep firing in adult life long after the situation has changed.

Which problems is schema therapy best for?

Patterns that keep repeating despite insight: choosing the same kind of unavailable or controlling partner, perfectionism and harsh self-criticism, people-pleasing and difficulty saying no, chronic emptiness or low mood that ordinary CBT did not shift, and the relationship patterns underneath repeated conflict. It is often the right next step for people who feel they have ‘tried therapy’ already.

What happens in schema therapy sessions?

Early sessions identify your main schemas and the ‘modes’ you slip into — the punitive inner critic, the detached protector, the vulnerable child. Then the work combines understanding with experiential methods (imagery, chair work, and a deliberately reparative relationship with the therapist) so the change reaches the emotional level where schemas live, not just the intellectual one.

How does schema therapy fit with IFS and EMDR?

Closely. Schema modes and IFS ‘parts’ describe similar territory, and Samuel moves between the two languages depending on which fits you; EMDR is added when a specific early memory keeps the schema charged. See the IFS and EMDR pages.

Is schema therapy available in Farsi and online?

Yes. Sessions run in Farsi or English, in person at 1300–1500 West Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver or by secure video anywhere in British Columbia. Evening and weekend times are available. جلسات به فارسی برگزار می‌شود.

How do I start?

With a free 20-minute phone call directly with Samuel — no receptionist, no forms. Call or WhatsApp 604-721-0604, or text a single line and he will call you back within a day. He will tell you honestly whether schema therapy, IFS, CBT or something else is the right first step.

And no — your problem doesn’t need to be a crisis to belong here. Most of the people Samuel sees are simply tired, stuck, or quietly carrying something heavy.

You don’t have to keep repeating the pattern

Book your free 20-minute call — no forms, just say “I saw your website.” · Call 6047210604 · WhatsApp / Text