List of maladaptive schemas


This is a list of maladaptive schemas, often called early maladaptive schemas, in schema therapy, a theory and method of psychotherapy. An early maladaptive schema is a pervasive self-defeating or dysfunctional theme or pattern of memories, emotions, and physical sensations, developed during childhood or adolescence and elaborated throughout one's lifetime, that often has the form of a belief about the self or the world.

Disconnection and rejection

; Abandonment/instability
; Mistrust/abuse
; Emotional deprivation
; Defectiveness/shame
; Social Isolation/alienation

Impaired autonomy and performance

; Dependence/incompetence
; Vulnerability to harm or illness
; Enmeshment/underdeveloped self
; Failure

Impaired limits

; Entitlement/grandiosity
; Insufficient self-control/self-discipline

Other-directedness

; Subjugation
; Self-sacrifice
; Approval-seeking/recognition-seeking

Overvigilance and inhibition

; Negativity/pessimism
; Overcontrol/emotional inhibition
; Unrelenting standards/hypercriticalness
; Punitiveness