David Bernstein

Prof. David Bernstein is a Clinical Psychologist (PhD, New York University, 1990) and one of the pioneers and leading innovators in Schema Therapy. He is on the faculty of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, where he served as ‘Professor of Forensic Psychotherapy,’ and Chair of the Section on Forensic Psychology. His career has focused on developing more effective treatment for patients with severe personality disorders. This includes creating specialized forms of Schema Therapy for forensic patients (“Forensic Schema Therapy”) and for teams working in complex organizational environments (“SafePath”). His randomized clinical trial of Forensic Schema Therapy is considered a landmark in the field. He has authored over 130 publications in areas such as psychotherapy, personality disorders, forensic psychology, and childhood trauma. He is the author of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the image-based therapy tools, the Bernstein iModes. He is an active Schema Therapy teacher and supervisor, and the Founder and CEO of the SafePath Institute.