Schema Therapy Self-Help Guide Series
Explore the 18 Schemas in Schema Therapy
Hard-to-Change Problems
Schema Therapy is an evidence-based approach that helps you understand and change deeply ingrained patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that often develop in childhood. I’ve created a self-help guide for each of the 18 early maladaptive schemas. Each guide explains how the schema develops, how it affects your life and relationships, and practical steps you can take to begin changing these patterns.
Disconnection & Rejection
The expectation that love, safety, or belonging won’t be reliably available.
Abandonment/Instability
Mistrust/Abuse
Emotional Deprivation
Defectiveness/Shame
Social Isolation/Alienation
Impaired Autonomy & Performance
Feeling unable to function independently or succeed on your own.
Dependence/Incompetence
Vulnerability to Harm or Illness
Enmeshment/Undeveloped Self
Failure
Impaired Limits
Struggles with boundaries, self-control, or respecting the needs of others.
Entitlement/Grandiosity
Insufficient Self-Control/Self-Discipline
Other-Directedness
Putting others’ needs and approval ahead of your own.
Subjugation
Self-Sacrifice
Approval-Seeking/Recognition-Seeking
Over-Vigilance & Inhibition
Over-focusing on rules, control, or avoiding mistakes while suppressing emotions.