Early maladaptive schemas in patients with or without personality disorders: Does schema modification predict symptomatic relief?

Schema Therapy (ST) proposes that early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) are at the core of personality pathology and psychological distress, in particular personality disorder and chronic interpersonal difficulties. Therapeutic change in ST is based on the modification of early maladaptive schemas and associated coping behaviours. Some of these basic assumptions in the ST model were tested. It was hypothesized that EMSs are related to symptomatic distress but in particular personality pathology and personality disorder. Furthermore, schema modification should predict level of symptomatic distress by the end of treatment. Patients (N = 82) from a psychiatric outpatient clinic were assessed with SCID I and II and self-report inventories measuring a variety of psychiatric symptoms prior to and after treatment. The results were supportive of the ST model and showed that levels of early maladaptive schemas were related to personality pathology and that modification of early maladaptive schemas strongly predicted symptom relief by the end of treatment. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.