The effectiveness of schema therapy in personality disorders: A systematic review

Abstract

Schema therapy is a psychotherapy method that is increasingly popular in the psychological treatment of personality disorders. This study aimed to examine the academic studies published on the effectiveness of schema therapy in personality disorders and to evaluate the examined studies within the framework of specific criteria. In this systematic review, eleven (11) research articles, selected following the research criteria, were examined. The findings obtained from the studies are presented under the titles of "Study ID, Type of Analysis, Personality Disorder Type, Assessment Tools, Findings, and Conclusions". Studies conducted between 2011-2022 were included in the review. The sample of the studies included in the study consisted of cluster A, B, and C personality disorders. Many studies show that schema therapy is effective in treating clusters B and C personality disorders and reducing symptoms. However, in literature, the treatment of personality disorders is extremely limited. A large part of the studies is aimed at researching borderline personality disorder. For this reason, future studies need to contribute to the literature on the effectiveness of schema therapy by considering other personality disorders besides borderline personality disorders in a larger clinical sample. © 2025, Association for Clinical Psychology Research. All rights reserved.