Schema Therapy • Jeffrey Young

There are 5 Schema Domains and a total of 18 Maladaptive Schemas, with 3 maladaptive coping styles (or responses) for each maladaptive schema:

1. DISCONNECTION & REJECTION

Abandonment & Instability

S – Selects partners who cannot make a commitment and remains in the relationships
A – Avoids intimate relationships; drinks a lot when alone
O – Clings to and “smothers” the partner to point of pushing partner away; vehemently attacks partner for even minor separations

Mistrust & Abuse

S – Selects abusive partners and permits abuse
A – Avoids becoming vulnerable and trusting anyone; keeps secrets
O – Uses and abuses others (“get others before they get you”)

Emotional Deprivation (lack of nurturance, empathy, protection)

S – Selects emotionally depriving partners and does not ask them to meet needs
A – Avoids intimate relationships altogether
O – Acts emotionally demanding with partners and close friends

Defectiveness & Shame

S – Selects critical and rejecting friends; puts self down
A – Avoids expressing true thoughts and feelings and letting others get close
O – Criticizes and rejects others while seeming to be perfect

Social Isolation/Alienation & Exclusion

S – At social gatherings, focuses exclusively on differences from others rather than similarities
A – Avoids social situations and groups
O – Becomes a chameleon to fit into groups

2. IMPAIRED AUTONOMY & PERFORMANCE

Dependence & Incompetence

S – Asks significant others (parents, spouse) to make all his or her financial decisions
A – Avoids taking on new challenges, such as learning to drive
O – Becomes so self-reliant that he or she does not ask anyone for anything (“counter-dependent”)

Vulnerability (to Harm or Illness)

S – Obsessively reads about catastrophes in newspapers and anticipates them in everyday situations
A – Avoids going places that do not seem totally “safe”
O – Acts recklessly, without regard to danger (“counter-phobic”)

Enmeshment & Undeveloped Self

S – Tells mother everything, even as an adult; lives through partner
A – Avoids intimacy; stays independent
O – Tries to become the opposite of significant others in all ways

Failure

S – Does tasks in a halfhearted or haphazard manner
A – Avoids work challenges completely; procrastinates on tasks
O – Becomes an “overachiever” by ceaselessly driving him- or herself

3. IMPAIRED LIMITS

Entitlement & Grandiosity

S – Bullies others into getting own way, brags about own accomplishments
A – Avoids situations in which he or she is average, not superior
O – Attends excessively to the needs of others

Insufficient Self-Control & Self-Discipline

S – Gives up easily on routine tasks
A – Avoids employment or accepting responsibility
O – Becomes overly self-controlled or self-disciplined

4. OTHER-DIRECTEDNESS

Subjugation

S – Lets other individuals control situations and make choices
A – Avoids situations that might involve conflict with another individual
O – Rebels against authority

Self-Sacrifice

S – Gives a lot to others and asks for nothing in return
A – Avoids situations involving giving or taking
O – Gives as little to others as possible

Approval-Seeking & Recognition-Seeking

S – Acts to impress others
A – Avoids interacting with those whose approval is coveted
O – Goes out of the way to provoke the disapproval of others; stays in the background

5. OVERVIGILANCE & INHIBITION

Negativity & Pessimism

S – Focuses on the negative; ignores the positive; worries constantly; goes to great lengths to avoid any possible negative outcome
A – Drinks to blot out pessimistic feelings and unhappiness
O – Is overly optimistic (“Pollyanna”-ish); denies unpleasant realities

Emotional Inhibition

S – Maintains a calm, emotionally flat demeanor
A – Avoids situations in which people discuss or express feelings
O – Awkwardly tries to be the “life of the party”, even though it feels forced and unnatural

Unrelenting Standards & Hyper-criticalness

S – Spends inordinate amounts of time trying to be perfect
A – Avoids or procrastinates in situations and tasks in which performance will be judged
O – Does not care about standards at all – does tasks in a hasty, careless manner

Punitiveness

S – Treats self and others in harsh, punitive manner
A – Avoids others for fear of punishment
O – Behaves in overly forgiving way.