Maladaptive schemas are deeply ingrained, negative patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that often develop during childhood and affect adult behaviour. These schemas influence how we view ourselves, others, and the world around us. Understanding maladaptive schemas is a cornerstone of Schema Therapy, a valuable therapeutic approach that helps unpack and address long-standing emotional struggles.
What Are Maladaptive Schemas?
Maladaptive schemas are self-defeating core beliefs or themes that drive our emotional and behavioural responses. These schemas are often unconscious, meaning we may not realise how they’re shaping our reactions and relationships. They serve as a lens through which we interpret our experiences, often reinforcing negative patterns.
How Do Maladaptive Schemas Form?
Schemas typically develop during childhood when our core emotional needs are not met. These needs include:
- Safety and security
- Autonomy and competence
- Connection and acceptance
- Realistic limits and self-control
- Spontaneity and play
When caregivers/significant others fail to meet these needs, whether due to neglect, overprotection, abuse, or other factors, maladaptive schemas can form. These schemas are reinforced over time through negative experiences and relationships, solidifying into enduring patterns.
The 18 Maladaptive Schemas
Schema Therapy identifies 18 maladaptive schemas, grouped into five broad domains based on unmet emotional needs:
Disconnection and Rejection
This domain includes schemas formed when a person’s need for safety, stability, and connection is unmet:
- Abandonment/Instability
A fear that important people in your life will not stick around. You might believe relationships are temporary or that others are unreliable.
Example: Feeling anxious every time your partner goes out, convinced they might leave you or lose interest. - Mistrust/Abuse
A belief that others will intentionally hurt, manipulate, or take advantage of you.
Example: Avoiding opening up to, or trusting friends because you expect them to betray your trust or use your vulnerabilities against you. - Emotional Deprivation
Expecting that your emotional needs will never be met by others. There are three major forms of deprivation:
Deprivation of Nurturance: Absence of attention, affection, warmth, or companionship
Deprivation of Empathy: Absence of understanding, listening, self-disclosure, or mutual sharing of feelings from others
Deprivation of Protection: Absence of strength, direction, or guidance from others
Example: Feeling frustrated in relationships because you believe your partner doesn’t give you enough affection or understanding, even when they try. - Defectiveness/Shame
The belief that you’re fundamentally flawed, unlovable, or inferior.
Example: Avoiding social events because you think others will notice and judge your perceived flaws, like your appearance or personality. - Social Isolation/Alienation
Feeling like you don’t belong or are fundamentally different from others.
Example: Watching coworkers’ bond but believing you’re too different to join in or be accepted.
Impaired Autonomy and Performance
These schemas develop when autonomy, independence, or competence is undermined:
- Dependence/Incompetence
Believing you cannot handle life’s challenges or everyday responsibilities without significant help from others.
Example: Relying on friends or family to make decisions for you because you doubt your own judgment. - Vulnerability to Harm or Illness
An exaggerated fear that catastrophe is just around the corner, whether physical, emotional, or environmental.
Example: Over focus on medical catastrophes (e.g., heart attacks, severe illnesses), emotional catastrophes (e.g., going crazy), or environmental catastrophes (e.g., earthquakes, airplane crashes). - Enmeshment/Undeveloped Self
An excessive emotional involvement and closeness with one or more significant others, at the expense of full individuation or normal social development.
Example: Struggling to make decisions without your parent’s input, even in adulthood. - Failure
The belief that one is inadequate or will fail to achieve, or is fundamentally inadequate relative to one’s peers.
Example: Avoiding career advancement opportunities because you feel you’ll fail, even with evidence of your abilities.
Impaired Limits
Schemas in this domain arise when boundaries or self-discipline are not adequately modelled:
- Entitlement/Grandiosity
A belief in being superior or deserving special treatment. This can be believing you are entitled to special rights and privileges, or not bound by the rules of reciprocity that guide normal social interaction.
Example: Cutting in line because you feel your time is more valuable than everyone else’s. - Insufficient Self-Control/Self-Discipline
Difficulty delaying gratification or controlling impulses, or struggling to tolerate discomfort, often leading to difficulties achieving goals.
Example: Abandoning a fitness program because the effort feels overwhelming, even though you deeply want to be healthier.
Other-Directedness
These schemas emerge when prioritizing others’ needs over one’s own:
- Subjugation
Consistently putting others’ needs and opinions ahead of your own to avoid conflict or rejection. There are two major forms of subjugation:
Subjugation of Needs: Suppression of one’s preferences, decisions, and desires
Subjugation of Emotions: Suppressing of emotional expression, especially anger.
Example: Always agreeing with friends’ plans, even when it’s inconvenient, because you fear upsetting them. - Self-Sacrifice
Excessive focus on meeting others’ needs at the expense of personal well-being, often leading to resentment.
Example: Constantly staying late at work to help colleagues, neglecting your own responsibilities or self-care. - Approval-Seeking/Recognition-Seeking
On overemphasis on gaining approval, recognition, or attention from other people, or on fitting in, at the expense of developing a secure and true sense of self.
Example: Constantly striving to buy the latest trends or luxury items to impress others and feel accepted within a particular social circle, even if it creates financial stress.
Overvigilance and Inhibition
Schemas in this domain develop when caregivers emphasize perfectionism, rules, or suppression of emotions:
- Negativity/Pessimism
A pervasive, lifelong focus on the negative aspects of life while minimising positive aspects of life.
Example: Worrying about everything that could/or has gone wrong on a holiday, to the point that you don’t enjoy the trip. - Emotional Inhibition
The suppression of feelings, spontaneous action, or communication to avoid disapproval or loss of control.
Example: Avoiding crying or showing sadness in front of others, even in emotionally appropriate situations, out of fear it might be seen as weak or overdramatic. - Unrelenting Standards/Hypercriticalness
A pressure to meet high standards and setting unrealistically high expectations for yourself and others, often leading to stress or dissatisfaction.
Example: Rewriting an email multiple times because you fear it isn’t perfect, even though it’s already clear and professional. - Punitiveness
The belief that mistakes deserve harsh punishment, with little tolerance for imperfection.
Example: Criticising yourself harshly for forgetting an appointment, even though it rarely happens.
Origins of Maladaptive Schemas
The origins of schemas are often traced back to early experiences with caregivers, siblings, or peers. Examples include:
- Abuse or neglect: Emotional, physical, or sexual abuse can lead to schemas like Mistrust/Abuse or Defectiveness/Shame.
- Overprotection: Excessive control can result in Dependence/Incompetence or Vulnerability to Harm.
- Criticism or high expectations: These can lead to Unrelenting Standards or Punitiveness.
- Conditional love: Being valued only for achievements can foster Approval-Seeking or Emotional Inhibition.
Healing Maladaptive Schemas
Schema Therapy aims to help individuals recognise and change maladaptive schemas by:
- Identifying schemas: Using tools like questionnaires and discussions.
- Understanding their origins: Linking schemas to childhood experiences.
- Rewriting the narrative: Challenging and modifying schema-driven beliefs.
- Practicing healthier behaviours: Learning to meet emotional needs in adaptive ways.
In Closing …
Maladaptive schemas are powerful but not insurmountable. By understanding their origins and effects, individuals can take steps toward healing and developing healthier patterns. Schema Therapy provides a compassionate and effective framework for addressing these deep-rooted patterns, fostering lasting change.
References
- Young, J. E., Klosko, J. S., & Weishaar, M. E. (2003). Schema Therapy: A Practitioner’s Guide. Guilford Press.
- Arntz, A., & Jacob, G. (2013). Schema Therapy in Practice: An Introductory Guide to the Schema Mode Approach. Wiley-Blackwell.
- Rafaeli, E., Bernstein, D. P., & Young, J. E. (2011). Schema Therapy. Wiley.
