Effectiveness of Schema Therapy in Clinical Disorders: A Systematic Review

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.

Keywords

• schema therapy
• Axis I disorders
• randomized controlled trials

Klinik Bozukluklarda Şema Terapinin Etkinliği: Sistematik Bir Derleme

Öz

Şema terapinin kişilik bozukluklarının tedavisinde etkin bir yöntem olduğu anlaşıldıktan sonra bu yöntemin daha geniş bir klinik yelpazede uygulanabilirliği üzerine incelemeler başlamıştır. Buradan hareketle yürütülen klinik uygulamalar ve çalışmalarda, depresyon, anksiyete bozuklukları ve travma ve stresörle ilişkili bozukluklar (TSSB) gibi klinik bozukluklarda da şema terapi temelli müdahalelerin belirtiler üzerinde iyileştirici gücü olduğu ortaya koyulmuştur. Bu çalışmanın amacı, şema terapinin klinik bozukluklar üzerindeki etkinliğini seçkisiz kontrollü çalışmalarla inceleyen araştırma bulgularını sistematik bir şekilde derlemektir. Bu amaçla, Google Akademik, PsycARTICLES, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, Web of Science ve Wiley Online Library elektronik veri tabanları taranmıştır. Tarama sonucunda elde edilen çalışmalara dahil etme kriterleri uygulandığında dokuz makaleye ulaşılmıştır. Değerlendirmeye alınan çalışmalar, depresyon, anksiyete bozuklukları, TSSB, obsesif-kompulsif bozukluk ve ilişkili bozukluklar (OKB) ve beslenme ve yeme bozuklukları gibi klinik bozuklukları kapsayacak şekilde çeşitlilik göstermektedir. Araştırmaların bulguları, genel olarak şema terapi temelli müdahalelerin bu bozukluklarda belirtileri azaltmada etkili bir yöntem olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Bununla birlikte, şema terapinin etkinliği, genellikle bilişsel davranışçı terapi gibi diğer terapi yöntemleriyle karşılaştırmalı olarak ele alınmış ve bazı çalışmalarda her iki ekol temelli uygulamaların benzer derecede etkili olduğu gözlenmiştir. Ancak kısıtlı bulgulara rağmen şema terapinin kısa süreli uygulamalarda dahi olumlu sonuçlar verdiği ve özellikle uzun vadeli etkiler açısından umut vadettiği vurgulanmaktadır. Derlenen bulgular, şema terapinin belirgin belirtilerle seyreden klinik bozukluklara yönelik tedavilerde önemli bir alternatif olarak değerlendirilebileceğini önermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• şema terapi
• Eksen I bozukluklar
• seçkisiz kontrollü çalışmalar

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