Ida Shaw, MA

Ida A. Shaw, M.A., is an International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST) Certified Supervisor-Trainer specializing in Individual, Child-Adolescent, and Group Schema Therapy (ST). She currently serves as co-director of the Schema Therapy Institute Midwest in Cleveland. Ida also co-developed Group Schema Therapy with Joan Farrell and was instrumental in the development of Child-Adolescent Schema Therapy. In recognition of her significant contributions to schema therapy, Ida was elected as an Honorary Lifetime Member of the ISST in 2020. For a decade, she held the position of Training Director at the Center for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Treatment & Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Her leadership extended to major international schema therapy trials, including supervising and training participants in a five-country study involving 495 patients focused on Group Schema Therapy for borderline personality disorder, as well as an experimental case series for dissociative identity disorder (DID). Ida has authored three influential books on schema therapy:

Group Schema Therapy for BPD (Wiley, 2012)
The Schema Therapy Clinician’s Guide (Wiley, 2014)
Experiencing Schema Therapy from the Inside Out: A Self-Practice/Self-Reflection Workbook (Guilford Press, 2018)

Her bibliography also includes numerous book chapters and journal articles. She is widely recognized for her creativity and expertise in developing experiential interventions, which have been instrumental in advancing Group and Child-Adolescent Schema Therapy. Ida served as Chair of the Child-Adolescent Schema Therapy Certification Committee and was a member of the Training & Certification Advisory Board of ISST for many years, further shaping the field through her dedication and service

10.15 AM - 11.15 AM

Friday Dec 5th

NAVIGATING THE CHALLENGES OF MODE CLASHES IN PARENT-TEEN CONFLICTS

Few dynamics are as emotionally charged as conflicts between parents and adolescents. Schema Therapy offers a powerful framework for understanding these struggles through the concept of mode clashes—moments when both parent and child respond from maladaptive modes, locking into patterns that escalate tension and block connection.

This presentation explores how schemas and unmet needs drive these recurring battles and demonstrates how identifying mode clashes can help families move from blame to understanding. Attendees will learn practical interventions to help parents and adolescents recognize their own modes, de-escalate reactivity, and uncover the underlying needs behind each person’s behavior.

Through vivid examples and live demonstration, Ida Shaw and Maria Galimzyanova will show how Schema Therapy helps families shift from control and defiance to empathy and collaboration. Participants will leave with actionable strategies to transform conflict into repair and connection.

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Thursday Dec 4th

TRANSLATING 50 PERSONALITIES INTO 5 MODES: SCHEMA THERAPY FOR DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER

Working with dissociative identity disorder (DID) can feel overwhelming, with clients presenting dozens of internal parts, each holding distinct memories, emotions, and coping strategies. This presentation introduces a powerful Schema Therapy model developed by Ida Shaw and Joan Farrell that helps both clients and therapists bring order to that inner world.

By consolidating numerous dissociative parts into a manageable set of schema modes, this approach provides a clear framework for integration and healing. Participants will see how child, coping, and critic modes can be identified and gradually transformed through experiential work, a strong therapeutic alliance, and the cultivation of Healthy Adult functioning.

This model has been successfully applied and studied in both inpatient and outpatient settings, showing significantly faster progress than traditional long-term treatments. Attendees will gain a structured, compassionate way to conceptualize and treat DID, learning interventions that bring stability, coherence, and renewed hope to even the most complex cases.