Paul Kasyanik, PhD

Paul Kasyanik, PhD, is the director and co-founder of the Schema Therapy Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is an Advanced Certified Schema Therapist, Supervisor, and Trainer in Individual, Groups, and Children-Adolescents Schema Therapy. Since 2016, Paul has served as Science & Research Coordinator and from 2018 to 2020 as Certification Coordinator on the Executive Board of the ISST. From 2020 to 2025, he led as chair of the Training and Certification Advisory Board of the ISST. He has been treating patients, training professionals, and supervising psychotherapists for over 45 years. His advanced training workshops have been highly. Rated by hundreds of practitioners across Europe. Paul’s multifaceted experience enables him to offer innovative training that integrates practical skills with a wide range of experiential interventions, from sensory motor therapy to fairy tales and life rescripting, all grounded in developmental psychology and consistent with the Schema Therapy model. He has presented advanced Schema Therapy training at EABCT and ISST Conferences and Summer Schools since 2012, as well as in training programs in 14 countries, significantly impacting the development of schema therapy internationally.

11.15 AM - 12.15 PM

Friday Dec 5th

The Missing Link in Couples Therapy: How Schema Therapy Unlocks the Breakthrough Other Models Can’t

Every couples therapist knows this pair. They have mastered every tool, naming their attachment wounds mid-argument, using flawless “I” statements, and tracking their cycles with precision. Yet one glance, one tone, one Saturday morning in the produce aisle, and everything falls apart.

Research tells the same story. Even in the best outcome studies, 30 to 40 percent of couples fail to sustain gains. The problem is not a lack of skill. Many of these partners are driven by schema-based dynamics that traditional attachment or behavioral models cannot reach.

These are not avoiders running from fear. They are overcompensators who attack vulnerability itself. Contempt, control, and punitive defenses protect against shame so deeply rooted that safety alone will not soften them. Schema Therapy explains why. The attachment injuries we try to repair are symptoms of unhealed schemas that keep recreating the wound.

This presentation teaches you how to recognize when schemas, not skills, drive the cycle and how to intervene where change truly begins. Through the Healthy Mode Triad, Connection Dialogues, and imagery rescripting for couples, participants will learn how to go beyond pattern management and foster real schema healing that lasts.

9.00 AM - 10.00 AM KEYNOTE

Thursday Dec 4th

KEYNOTE: THE EVIDENCE-BASED MODEL OF SCHEMA THERAPY BY JEFFREY YOUNG COMPARED WITH EMERGING MODELS

What makes Schema Therapy so effective with clients other treatments can’t reach? In this powerful session, Dr. Joan Farrell and Dr. Paul Kasyanik—renowned researchers, trainers, and international leaders—reveal the evidence that sets Schema Therapy apart. They’ll unpack the landmark trials that proved its effectiveness across complex disorders and examine what happens when new adaptations stray from that research base.

Discover what the data actually show about how real change happens and why the simplicity of Dr. Young’s original model remains its greatest strength. Walk away with renewed confidence in using a therapy that doesn’t just promise transformation but delivers it, session after session.