The Effectiveness of Schema Therapy on Psychological Distress and Emotional Regulation in Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Background and Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of schema therapy on psychological distress and emotional regulation in individuals with borderline personality disorder in Tehran in 2023.
 
 
Methods and Materials: The research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all individuals with borderline personality disorder who referred to counseling centers in Tehran. From this population, 30 individuals were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to the experimental group (15 individuals) and the control group (15 individuals). The experimental group received schema therapy training in 12 sessions of 60 minutes each, while the control group remained on a waiting list. The instruments used in the present study included the Borderline Personality Questionnaire (Claridge & Broks, 1984), Psychological Distress Scale (Kessler, 2002), and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski & Kraaij, 2006). Data analysis was conducted in two sections: descriptive and inferential (covariance analysis).
 
 
Findings: The results showed that schema therapy training impacted the psychological distress components (anxiety, depression, and stress) in individuals with borderline personality disorder. Furthermore, the results indicated that schema therapy reduced negative emotion regulation and increased positive emotion regulation in individuals with borderline personality disorder.
 
 
Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, schema therapy can be suggested as an effective method to improve psychological distress and emotional regulation in individuals with borderline personality disorder.