Effectiveness of Schema Therapy in Clinical Disorders: A Systematic Review
Effectiveness of Schema Therapy in Clinical Disorders: A Systematic Review

Summary/Abstract: Given that schema therapy was an efficacious method in the treatment of personality disorders, studies on the applicability of this method in a wider clinical spectrum were initiated. Following, clinical applications and studies have shown that schema therapy-based interventions have a healing power on symptoms in clinical diagnoses such as depression, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aim of this study is to systematically compile research findings examining the effectiveness of schema therapy on clinical disorders through randomized clinical trials. For this purpose, Google Scholar, PsycARTICLES, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, Web of Science and Wiley Online Library electronic databases were searched. When the inclusion criteria were applied to the studies obtained, nine eligible studies were finally included. The studies included covers clinical disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and eating disorders. The findings of the studies generally reveal that Schema therapy-based interventions are effective methods in reducing the symptoms of these disorders. However, the effectiveness of schema therapy has generally been examined in comparison with other therapy methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and some studies have observed that applications based on both schools are similarly effective. However, despite the limited findings, schema therapy yields positive results even in short-term applications. Thus, schema therapy can be considered as an important alternative in the treatment of clinical disorders with presence of symptoms.

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