Young, Klosko, and Weishaar (2003) offer a number of descriptions of schemas:
“A schema is an abstract representation of the distinctive characteristics of an event, a kind of blueprint of its most salient elements.”
“[A schema is] an abstract cognitive plan that serves as guide for interpreting information and solving problems.”
“[A schema is] any broad organizing principle for making sense of one’s life experience.”
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“Early maladaptive schemas fight for survival … although it causes suffering, it is comfortable and familiar, it feels right” (Young, Klosko, & Weishaar, 2003).Schemas are a key maintenance factor in cognitive therapy because they determine “what we notice, attend to, and remember of our experiences” (Padesky, 1994). A schema of ‘I’m bad’ may make it hard for an individual to notice when they do something good, leading to the maintenance of the unhelpful way of thinking and being. Mechanisms by which schemas are maintained include:
selective memory;
biased interpretation of ambiguous stimuli such as discounting contradictory information or by seeing the information as an exception to the schema.
continuum methods to evaluate self/behavior on negative and adaptive continuum;
historical texts of schema;
psychodrama / role-play techniques.
Padesky, C. A. (1994). Schema change processes in cognitive therapy. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 1(5), 267–278.
Young, J. E., Klosko, J. S., & Weishaar, M. E. (2003). Schema therapy: A practitioner’s guide. New York: Guilford Press.