Within the schema therapy model, schema modes are the shifting experiential states that individuals experience, and identification of these is central to case conceptualization and the planning of interventions. Differences in the naming and descriptions of modes in the literature suggest the need for systematic phenomenological investigation. This paper presents the first part of an interpretative phenomenological analysis of schema modes within the single case of Linda, a young woman with anorexia nervosa. The analysis, which is based largely on transcripts (...) of seven therapy sessions, yielded phenomenological accounts of her experience of a number of modes. In this, the first of two papers, a phenomenological account of her Child and Parent modes are presented and discussed. (shrink)